Abstract
The TRIPS Agreement requires member countries to provide protection to plant varieties either through patents or through an effective sui generis system or a combination of both. Agrarian backbone of the countries of South Asia, the predominance of the role of farmers in breeding, along with recourse to traditional agricultural practices have substantially enlarged the scope of stakeholders in the agricultural sector. This has encouraged countries to evolve PVP regimes that would provide effective protection while safeguarding the rights and privileges of farmers. The approach also conserves agricultural diversity of the region by preserving endemic varieties, local varieties and local practices of their cultivation. In this chapter, we take a look at the PVP regimes of the identified South Asian countries, challenges faced by them and the utility of such an approach over plant patents.
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Notes
- 1.
Registration of new plant varieties: New varieties of plants can be registered provided they conform to the NDUS criteria, i.e. novelty, distintness, uniformity and stability. A variety is considered novel if on the date of filing, it has not been sold or disposed of anywhere; it is considered as distinct if it is distinguishable by at least one essential characteristic from any other variety; it is considered as uniform if it is sufficiently uniform in its essential characteristics subject to variation that might be expected and is considered as stable if its essential characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation.
- 2.
Essentially derived variety: A plant variety is considered to be essentially derived variety when it is (i) predominantly derived from the initial variety while retaining expression of the characteristics of genotype or combination of genotype of such initial variety, (ii) clearly distinguishable from such initial variety, (iii) conformed to the initial variety in expression of essential characteristics that result from genotype or combination of genotype of initial variety except variation in such characteristics resulting from the process of derivation.
- 3.
Breeders are usually referred to as individuals or organizations who develop new varieties of plants while farmers are considered as those who grow these varieties. However, as with most developing countries, where traditional farming is practised abundantly, a significant proportion of plant varieties are developed by the farmers themselves through crossing and selection. Such practices often form part of traditional and indigenous knowledge of farming communities. Thus, farmers of developing countries should rightfully be granted the status of breeders; a claim that is often deprived in provisions of many countries including Bangladesh.
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Bandyopadhyay, D. (2018). Plant Variety Protection and Farmers’ Rights. In: Securing Our Natural Wealth. South Asia Economic and Policy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8872-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8872-8_5
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