Download PDF（Newsletter）

Introduction

The Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act (“PVP Act”) provides for a plant variety protection (“PVP”) system with the aim of contributing to the development of agriculture by promoting the breeding of varieties. The PVP Act was significantly amended in 2020 and came into effect in April 2022.

 

Variety and Plant Breeding

A variety means a group of different characteristics within the same item (tomatoes, cabbages, potatoes, roses, etc.), each classified as a separate group. Plant breeding means the act of improving the genetic characteristics of plants by crossbreeding varieties of different characteristics to create superior varieties.

 

History of Plant Breeding

(left: wild species)           　　(right: cultivars)

[watermelons]

[carrots]

[corn]

(Source: ”Zukai de yoku wakaru tane/nae no kihon” )

 

PVP System and Plant Breeders’ Rights

Plant breeders’ rights become effective upon variety registration.

1. The holder of the plant breeders’ rights has an exclusive right to exploit propagating materials, harvested products, and certain processed products of the registered variety.
2. The duration of plant breeders’ rights is 25 years, or 30 years for woody plants, from the date of variety registration.

 

Procedures for PVP

1. Application
2. Publication of Application
3. Provisional Protection
   - After the variety is registered, applicants can claim compensation from those who infringed upon the variety during the provisional protection period.
4. Examination
5. Notification of Identified Characteristics
   - If the applied-for variety passes the examination, the applicant will receive a “Variety Description,” which records the characteristics of the variety (color and shape of flowers/leaves, etc.).
6. Registration as Protected Variety

 

Requirements for PVP

1. Distinctiveness: The variety should be clearly distinguishable from any other varieties of common knowledge at the time of the application by way of the relevant characteristics.
2. Uniformity: Within the same generation, all relevant characteristics must be sufficiently uniform (i.e. the same plants are grown from the seeds or seedlings).
   
3. Stability: After propagation, all relevant characteristics must remain stable (i.e. the same plants are grown after repeated propagation for several generations).

   (Source: http://www.hinshu2.maff.go.jp/en/about/leaflet.pdf)

4. Novelty: The applied-for variety has not been transferred in the course of business in Japan earlier than one year before　the date of application (in foreign countries, earlier than four years, or earlier than six years for woody plants).
5. Suitability of denomination: The denomination of the variety must not be similar to any other existing varieties or registered trademarks.
    

Points to Note in the 2020 Amendment of the PVP Act

Breeding of new plant varieties requires long-term effort and substantial financial cost. However, once a new plant variety is bred and sold on the market, the seeds and seedlings of such variety can be easily propagated. As registered varieties with excellent characteristics are traded at high prices, there is a high risk of unauthorized cultivation and outflow abroad. In recent years, breeders in Japan have suffered enormous losses due to the outflow of registered varieties such as fruits and vegetables. The PVP Act has been amended with the aim of preventing the outflow of registered varieties abroad and to enable the holders to exercise their rights effectively.

1. Prevention of outflow abroad
   - Applicants can prohibit the export of seeds and seedlings of registered varieties.
2. Promotion of production areas by registered varieties
   - Applicants can prohibit the production of the harvest of registered varieties outside designated areas.
3. Measures to enable the holders to exercise their plant breeders’ rights effectively
   - In order to conduct countermeasures against infringement, a new system has been established that enables the presumption of infringement by comparing the characteristics of the allegedly infringing varieties with the “Variety Description” of the registered variety.
4. Licenses for self-propagation
   - Farmers are required to obtain a license from the holder of the breeder's rights in order to conduct self-propagation (using the harvest of a registered variety as seeds and seedlings for the next production).

 

Conclusion

The 2020 amendment is expected to prevent the outflow of registered varieties of Japanese breeders abroad, as it is now illegal to take a registered variety out of the designated country or to cultivate it outside the designated production area. For foreign breeders who register varieties in Japan, the “Variety Description” described in section (3) will make it easier to file breeder's rights infringement suits. Furthermore, the licenses for self-propagation described in section (4) are an advantage in registering varieties in Japan. Development of variety-specific DNA markers for rapid and accurate identification of suspected infringing varieties would be beneficial for variety registration in Japan.