Plant variety right applications reach 200 in 2024, highest in a decade

　Plant variety rights are a form of intellectual property exclusive to agriculture.  According to the Agriculture and Food Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture (hereafter the “Agency”), following the enforcement of the Plant Variety and Plant Seed Act on June 30, 2005, which was amended by reference of the 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants), the number of applications for variety rights have maintained modest growth and even rose to 200 applications in 2024, hitting a 10-year high.  This reflects the industry’s growing importance placed on the innovation and protection of plant varieties.  The Agency noted that new varieties receive provisional protection after public disclosure of their applications, which provides more protection to breeders.  The Agency also calls on all sectors to value IP rights and work together to protect the fruits of innovation.  

　The Agency explained that there have been 226 plant varieties recognized and announced as eligible for plant variety right protection.  Plant varieties that are novel, distinct, consistent, stable, and properly named are eligible for plant variety right application.  As of the end of January 2025, there have been a total of 3,286 applications filed and 1,640 are granted.  Among these applications, 676 applications were filed by foreign applicants and 278 were granted.  The large number of developed and introduced plant varieties demonstrates the result and effectiveness of Taiwan’s protection for plant variety rights, which is effective enough to offer farmers diverse cultivation options and also to strengthen the competitiveness of agricultural sector.  

　Moreover, according to the Agency, the variety right holder’s authorization is required for reproduction and sale of the plants protected by variety rights.  New varieties are granted “provisional protection” after the applications thereof have been laid open and before official approval as set forth in the 2^nd paragraph of Article 19 of the Plant Variety and Plant Seed Act, and thus, farmers or businesses may commercially exploit these varieties only after obtaining the variety right holder’s prior consent, or they risk infringing on variety rights.  In order to avoid infringement and legal violation, it is advisable to use the Ministry of Agriculture’s plant variety rights public information search system (at https://pvr.afa.gov.tw) to first conduct a search of variety names, plant appearance, laid-open date of application, and right status, etc..  The Agency emphasizes that new plant varieties represent the result of years of efforts and innovation of breeders and thus the Agency calls on all sectors to respect plant variety rights.  Unauthorized reproduction, sale, or cultivation of protected varieties should be avoided.  Respecting these rights will help improve domestic breeding efforts and encourage the introduction of high-quality foreign varieties and ultimately foster overall agricultural development.  (Released 2025.02.17)  
/CCS