Also: Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, PPV&FR Act
Definition
The 2001 law that protects new plant varieties developed by breeders while uniquely recognising farmers as cultivators, conservers and breeders, giving them the right to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed (but not branded seed), and setting up the PPV&FR Authority.
The World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) required members to protect plant varieties either by patents or by an effective sui generis system, under Article 27.3(b). Many developed countries follow the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) Convention, which gives strong rights to breeders and limits farmers' rights to save seed. India chose its own model to balance breeders' rights with the rights of farmers, who have conserved and improved crop diversity for millennia.
The Act was passed in 2001, after debates involving farmer groups, scientists and the seed industry. Rules were notified in 2003, and the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority was set up in 2005 at New Delhi. India is not a member of UPOV, and the Act is often cited internationally as a model recognising farmers' rights in line with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2001).
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