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| Philippines |
| SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES PROTECTION FOR PLANT BREEDERS |
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02-Nov-2000 BusinessWorld |
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The Senate
agriculture committee has approved a bill that will protect plant breeders'
rights over new varieties that they develop through conventional means,
genetic engineering or biotechnology. The Malacanang-certified measure is seen to encourage foreign breeders to market plant varieties here and effectively promote the local seed industry. Passage of the bill would make Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Rights Code more comprehensive since it does not presently cover plant variety protection. The passage of the bill is also in compliance with the country's obligations under the World Trade Organization Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. "This bill also provides the institutional requirements that make the plant variety system feasible and easy to implement," Senator Sergio R. Osmena III said in his sponsorship of Committee Report 443 on the Senate floor. Under Senate Bill (SB) 1912, a plant variety certificate will be issued to breeders, giving them exclusive rights - subject to some exclusions - to a developed plant variety. A person who plans to use, produce, reproduce, market and trade a protected variety will have to secure the consent of the patent owner. As a compromise between the interests of breeders and farmers, however, a small farmer may plant a listed seed on a limited area of land and exchange it with other farmers without permission from the holder. Also excluded from coverage are acts done for noncommercial and experimental purposes. Another exception is the use of protected material as a genetic source for further breeding work. SB 1912 also contains a clause for the compulsory licensing of protected material for public interest. Intellectual property protection will be accorded plant breeders who develop new varieties. Internationally recognized criteria for distinctness, uniformity, stability and novelty will be taken into consideration in the grant of plant variety protection. A variety is considered distinct if it is clearly different from existing varieties of the same crop. It must be uniform in all relevant characteristics used for distinguishing a variety and should be stable, meaning it must remain unchanged during all cycles of reproduction. A variety must likewise be new, which means that it has not been offered for sale within a specific period. Eligible breeders will enjoy protection for a period of 25 years for trees and vines and 20 years for all other types of plants. SB 1912 also creates a National Plant Variety Protection Board, which will be tasked to implement licensing procedures. It will be chaired by the Agriculture secretary with the Justice secretary acting as his deputy. Members will include the Science and Technology secretary, the heads of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Intellectual Property Office, Institute of Plant Breeding, as well as representatives from the seed industry, crop science society and farmers groups. A registrar will also be appointed to process, evaluate and maintain records. The registrar will also record varieties that are commonly known and publicly used to safeguard these from unfair appropriation. The "first to file" rule will be applied in the grant of plant variety protection certificates. |
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