Agriculture in India has positioned itself as a core industry, serving as a primary source of income for over 70% of rural households to facilitate the continuing growth of the industry, the development of resilient plant varieties and superior quality of seeds is critical. Recognising this, nations across the globe have embraced protection for plant varieties to foster innovation.
Article 27.3(b) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), mandates member nations to provide protection to plant varieties through either patents or a sui-generis system. In furtherance, India enacted a sui-generis legislation in 2001, namely the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (PPVFRA), recognising the rights of both, plant breeders and farmers. The PPVFRA outlines four registrable varieties, namely (i) New Variety, (ii) Extant Variety, (iii) Farmers’ Variety, and (iv) Essentially Derived Variety (EDV). Each variety undergoes rigorous testing for novelty, uniformity, distinctiveness, and stability with protection lasting 15 to 18 years, depending on the nature of the variety.
Since 2001, the plant variety protection regime in India has evolved significantly, with various amendments being made to the PPVFRA and its underlying Rules. The Indian Plant Variety Office (PV Office) has also become proactive, regularly framing, and releasing guidelines, notices and press releases to ease and facilitate the registration process for stakeholders. Further, in 2022, the PV Office issued a public notice clarifying that the existing varieties already in circulation or undergoing breeding exploitation were eligible for registration without the need for notification in the Gazette under Section 29(2) of the PPVFRA. The PV Office further eased the process, permitting interested breeders to apply for registration of such varieties through email. This clarification came as a relief to industry stakeholders, who were otherwise faced with prolonged waiting periods even for varieties not requiring the Gazette notification On the judicial front, a recent ruling (February 2024) by a single judge of the Delhi High Court in the case of UPL Limited v Registrar and Anr has affirmed the continuing validity of Section 24(5) of the PPVFRA until the Supreme Court issues a final decision in the Pioneer Overseas Corporation vs Kaveri Seed Company case. The Supreme Court had previously suspended a Delhi High Court Division Bench judgement declaring Section 24(5) unconstitutional. This section grants the Registrar of Plant Varieties a discretionary power to issue directions to safeguard breeder interests and prevent third party abuse, even application processing.
The stance taken by the Delhi High Court offers assurance to stakeholders in the industry concerned about potential misuse and misappropriation of pending plant varieties by third parties of commercial gain.
India’s plant variety law is still at a nascent stage, but with proactive efforts from entities such as the PV Office and the Indian Courts to safeguard stakeholder rights, it is anticipated that plant variety filings will increase. Additionally, as stakeholder confidence grows, significant boost in investment and innovation within the industry are expected.
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