Recent Developments in India’s Plant Variety Protection, Seed Regulation and Linkages with UPOV’s Proposed Membership

Abstract

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS agreement) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) imposes an obligation on all member countries to protect plant varieties either by patents or by a sui generis regime or by a combination of both. India explored the sui generis option to provide protection to plant varieties. This legal regime recognises the rights of commercial breeders and also grants positive right to farmers and goes beyond the widely recognised international sui generis regime represented by the International Union for the Protection of Plant Varieties (UPOV). Notwithstanding this, India has made an application to join UPOV. However, with the present plant variety law, India’s membership application to join UPOV may not be successful. The recent development of bringing the Seeds bill, which dilutes farmer’s rights provisions in the plant variety law, is important in this regard. The paper argues that if the Seeds bill is passed in its present form it will dilute the beneficial provisions of the plant variety law and pave the way for India to join UPOV.

Keywords: India, UPOnV, Seeds Bill 2004, Plant Variety Protectio