Rights
Continents
SPAIN
COUNTRY : KINGDOM OF SPAIN
CAPITAL : MADRID
LANGUAGE : SPANISH
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES TO WHICH SPAIN IS SIGNATORY
- Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property.
- Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property – TRIPS.
- Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)
- Community Plant Variety Rights of the European Union
PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS LEGISLATION:
Plant Breeders Rights in Spain are protected by:
- Plant Varieties Protection Act
- European Union Community Rights Protection Act
BASICS REGARDING PROTECTION OF PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS:
The Act protects New Plant Varieties which are:
- Novel
- Distinct
- Uniform
- Stable
- Designated by proper denominations
PLANT VARIETIES PROTECTED AS PER PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS:
Protection accorded by PBR:
- Essentially Derived Varieties
- New Plant Varieties
- Varieties derived essentially from a protected variety when the protected variety is not an Essentially Derived Variety
- Varieties that can be produced only by repeated use of a protected variety
- Varieties clearly distinguished from a protected variety
PLANT VARIETIES NOT PROTECTED AS PER PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS:
The Act does not protect the denomination given to such variety, if the denomination:
- Is not a single denomination
- Consists solely of figures
- Is not possible to distinguish from other existing denominations
- Is liable to mislead the public v. Is liable to be confused with existing trademarks, tradenames
- Misleads or causes confusion regarding values, characteristics, value or identity of the plant variety and the identity of the breeder
Denomination found to be not in compliance with all the requisites, is to be resubmitted by the applicant with a fresh proposal.
ParityPatents Law Firms through its Attorney and Law Firms in Spain is at hand to help you with PBR protection and registration.
WHO MAY APPLY FOR PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS:
- Breeders
- Assignees
- Discoverers
- Creators and Developers
- Employers
- Successors
FILING REQUIREMENTS AS PER PLANT BREEDERS PROTECTION ACT:
Application made for protection under the Act to contain the following requisites:
- Details of the applicant and the representative where applicable
- Details of the breeder if differing from that of the applicant
- Nationality of the applicant and the plant breeder
- Genus and species of the variety
- Proposed denomination, if necessary provisional denomination
- Technical questionnaire
- Genealogy and procedure by which the variety was obtained, discovered, developed
- Document for having paid the fee
- Priority details if any
EXAMINATION PROCESS AND GRANT OF PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS:
- Upon receipt of the application, it is formally examined to confirm compliance with all the requisites.
- Applicant to correct or amend the application if ordered, else, application is to be dismissed.
- Application subjected to technical examination
- Upon application being compliant, it is published.
- Interested third parties may file objections for grant of plant variety rights by way of written protest with the authorities.
- There being no objections or objections successfully overcome by the application, registration granted to the applied variety.
RIGHTS OF OWNERS AS PER PLANT BREEDERS PROTECTION ACT:
Duration of Registration:
30 yrs. – Vines, Trees
25 yrs. – All other varieties
Owners of the registered plant variety may:
- produce and reproduce the propagating material
- Make repeated use of the propagating material of the protected plant variety towards commercial production of another variety
- Condition the propagating material for the purposes of propagation
- Sale, Export, Import the material
- Assign, Sell, Transfer the material to other parties, Enter into contractual licenses which may be exclusive or non-exclusive
- Stock the propagating material for all of the above acts
COMPULSORY LICENCE PROVISIONS AS PER PBR PROTECTION ACT:
Compulsory Licenses: are issued three years from the date of grant of registration when:
- Holder of the plant breeders rights refuses to grant the applicant license and is imposing unreasonable conditions.
- Applicant seeking the license is technically and financially competent to exploit the plant breeders rights professionally and effectively.
Reciprocal Compulsory Licenses: are issued when:
- A plant breeder is unable to obtain or exploit plant variety rights without violating prior patents may seek non-exclusive compulsory licenses.
- Holder of the patent is also entitled to reciprocal license.
- When holder of a biotechnology patent is unable to exploit it without violating prior plant variety rights may seek non-exclusive compulsory licenses.
- Holder of the plant variety right also entitled to reciprocal license.
ParityPatents along with specialised Patent Lawyers and Patent Attorneys in Spain, can assist you comprehensively with PBR Compulsory Licence matters.