UNDERSTANDING OF PLANT BREEDERS’ RIGHTS
UNDERSTANDING OF PLANT BREEDERS’ RIGHTS
Choosing protected varieties for a competitive edge
WHAT ARE PLANT BREEDERS’ RIGHTS?
Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) can be defined as a form of intellectual property rights granted to breeders of newly developed plant varieties.
“To fully appreciate PBR, one must understand what intellectual property and related rights are,” says Maanda Phosiwa, Biogold Iegal and IP Director. “Intellectual property refers to ownership of things/products or ideas which a person came up with (creations of the mind). An intellectual property right is the protection granted to the owner of the product or idea, which enables the owner to exclude others from using the intellectual property without consent or authorisation. It also affords the owner the right to earn recognition or financial benefit for their creation for a limited time.”
Therefore, a PBR is a right granted to the owner of a new plant variety which the owner bred or discovered and developed. The right is granted for a limited period: in South Africa it is generally 25 years in the case of vines and trees, and 20 years for all other plant types. The period is calculated from the date on which the certificate of registration is issued.
The owner of a new variety is required to comply with certain requirements before a PBR is granted:
- The owner needs to prove ownership and entitlement to apply and be granted the PBR, and
- the variety is required to be new and distinctive in comparison with existing and closely related varieties, and uniform in expressing the distinct features or characteristics.
The above requirements are not unique to South Africa and are relevant internationally.
The importance of PBRs in the citrus industry
Producers are always on the lookout for new varieties which could address production problems or challenges, including
- a quest for higher yielding alternatives;
- drought and disease resistant cultivars that are more resilient in terms of environmental conditions in their region; and
- cultivars to address seed (less or no seed) and other internal qualities in response to demands and expectations of the end consumer.
Breeding new citrus varieties is difficult and time-consuming. To properly evaluate and develop a variety into a commercial cultivar can take up to ten to fifteen years. Therefore, the PBR system ensures that the effort is rewarded by affording the right to exclude others from utilising new varieties without authorisation, and it encourages others to continue breeding new varieties.
For more information, contact Mdu Khumalo at tms@citrogold.co.za or visit www.citrogold.co.za for information about different cultivars and services.
Citrogold is committed to the success of our clients, continually endeavouring to deliver the highest level of client satisfaction in the citrus industry. With our collaborative team-based approach, we work closely with our producers to achieve tangible results.
UNDERSTANDING OF PLANT BREEDERS’ RIGHTS
Choosing protected varieties for a competitive edge
ACQUIRING PROTECTED VARIETIES
The ins and outs of PBR
When purchasing a protected variety, producers must take the following into consideration:
Contracts
- Carefully read and understand the contract
- It grants a producer a limited and non-exclusive license to grow and plant material of the variety for the purpose of the production, distribution, and sale of the fruit. In turn, the producer agrees to pay the applicable fees and abide by the contractual terms and conditions.
- The producer undertakes not to attempt to propagate or reproduce any of the plant material of the variety for propagation purposes (to increase the number of trees on his/her farm beyond what is authorised by the contract) or allow any person to do so.
Costs and royalty structure: the contract details the cost the producer is required to pay in exchange for the right to plant the variety.
Warranties and risk of planting
- Cultivar managers do not make or sell trees, and are not part of the agreement between the producer and the nursery, but grant producers a right to access the plant material. The producer must ensure that the trees purchased from the nursery are indeed the trees of the variety and in good condition. The cultivar manager therefore makes no express or implied warranty of merchantability, absence of disease or inherent defects on the plant material received by the producer from the nursery.
Marketing
- To ensure that the fruit of the variety is marketed adequately and the value of the variety is maintained, the breeder and/or cultivar manager may impose marketing restrictions.
- The restrictions may include the use of authorised channel participants who meet specific criteria, i.e. packers, exporters, and/or marketing agents. In other cases, importers in fruit-receiving countries may be required to be authorised for the same purpose.
How can we assist?
Citrogold, a leading South African variety development and management company, has to date successfully introduced several new citrus varieties greatly enhancing the competitiveness of the local citrus industry. It has also introduced new sub-tropical varieties, such as avocado, pomegranate, mango, macadamia, and passion fruit.
The company assists breeders of innovative varieties with developing these varieties and offers technical evaluation in all production regions, and subsequent commercialisation, both locally and internationally through its holding company, Biogold International.
Following the registration of new varieties, Citrogold offers these varieties to producers and provides guidence on the best commercial potential of varieties in their region.
Technical support
- As a cultivar manager, Citrogold is able to offer producers planting its varieties some level of technical support. ”We are constantly evaluating the performance of our varieties and providing production guidelines for our producers,” says Mdu Khumalo, marketing and sales manager. “During the commercial development of any of our varieties, we classify the varieties in four risk categories to enable any prospective producer to decide when to plant or what to plant based on available data:
- Potential: very high risk – very early stage of evaluation
- Experimental: high risk – still in early stages of evaluation but more known factors
- Semi-commercial: medium risk – production nuances are being refined
- Commercial: lower risk – most production nuances and variety propensities are known
NOTE: New varieties are protected by law and need to be utilised under license and within the regulations as set out in the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act No. 15 of 1976 of South Africa (PBR Act). When protected varieties are produced in or exported to other countries, related regulations of those countries need to be adhered to.
For more information, contact Mdu Khumalo at tms@citrogold.co.za or visit www.citrogold.co.za for information about different cultivars and services.
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Citrogold is committed to the success of our clients, continually endeavouring to deliver the highest level of client satisfaction in the citrus industry. With our collaborative team-based approach, we work closely with our producers to achieve tangible results.