plant variety rights legislation in the czech republic

The National Legislation The National Legislation in the Field of Plant in the Field of Plant Variety Rights Variety Rights EnforcementEnforcement

CENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR SUPERVISINGCENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR SUPERVISING

AND TESTING IN AGRICULTURE AND TESTING IN AGRICULTURE

Plant Variety Rights Legislation in Plant Variety Rights Legislation in the Czech Republicthe Czech Republic

This Act regulates:

the rights and obligations with respect to new plant varieties,

the powers and role of state administration authorities in the field of plant variety rights to varieties,

the proceedings for the grant of plant variety rights,

the control of variety maintenance,

the imposition of sanctions for infringement of obligations and violation of plant variety rights of EC.

Act No 408/2000 Coll. on the protection of plant variety rights (hereinafter Act No 408/2000 Coll.) and the amendment to Act No 92/1996 Coll., on plant varieties, seed and planting material of cultivated plants, as last amended (hereinafter Act No 92/1996 Coll.).

The authorities with the competency and responsibility to the area of plant variety rights in the frame of the Czech Republic are:

Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture (hereinafter CISTA)

Ministry of Agriculture

Central Institute for Supervising Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agricultureand Testing in Agriculture

It is a specialised body of the state administration established by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic

It is an organisational part of the state system

It is an administrative agency

Act No 147/2002 Coll., on CISTA, as amended

Hroznová 2, 656 06 BrnoČeská republika

Tel.: (+420) 543 548 111Fax: (+420) 543 211 148e-mail: [email protected]:// www.ukzuz.cz

Place of Headquarters:Place of Headquarters:

CISTA StructureCISTA Structure

GENERAL DIRECTOR

EKONOMIC AND ADMINISTRATION

SECTION

AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AND

SOIL SECTION

PLANT PRODUCTION SECTION

NATIONAL REFERENCE LABORATORY

AUTHORITY OFFICE

Division of perennial plants

Division of Seed and Planting Materials

Division of Plant Variety Testing

Division of Animal Production

Division of Feedingstuff

Division of Agrochemistry, Soil and Plant Nutrition

Division of perennial plants

Personnel Department

IT Department

Department of GIS and publishing

Internal Audit

Property inspector

Chief Metrologist

Inspector for Fire Protection, Safety and

Health at Work and Civil Defence

Secretariat of the institute Director

Foreign relations and EU Department

Legal Department

GENERAL DIRECTOR

EKONOMIC AND ADMINISTRATION

SECTION

AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AND

SOIL SECTION

PLANT PRODUCTION SECTION

NATIONAL REFERENCE LABORATORY

AUTHORITY OFFICE

Division of Perennial Plants

Division of Seed and Planting Materials

Division of Plant Variety Testing

Division of Animal Production

Division of Feedingstuff

Division of Agrochemistry, Soil and Plant Nutrition

Division of Economic, Finance and Property Keeping

Personnel Department

IT Department

Department of GIS and Publishing

Internal Audit

Property Inspector

Chief Metrologist

Inspector for Fire Protection, Safety and

Health at Work and Civil Defence

Secretariat of the Institute Director

Foreign Relations and EU Department

Legal Department

Proceedings for the Grant of Plant Proceedings for the Grant of Plant Variety RightsVariety Rights

Novelty

Distinctness

Uniformity

Stability

The plant variety rights may be granted to the variety which satisfies conditions of

Protective rights cannot be granted to a variety, to which a Community plant variety right has been granted,

CISTA is the authority of the first instance, which decides about grant of the plant variety rights in the administrative procedure CISTA according to the provisions set up in the Act No 408/2000 Coll.,

The procedure about grant of the plant variety rights is in the competence of Plant Variety Testing Division of CISTA,

Appeals against the Institute's decisions shall be decided by the Ministry, who is the appellate instance.

Proceedings for the Grant ofProceedings for the Grant ofPlant Variety RightsPlant Variety Rights

Disposal of the Legally Protected Disposal of the Legally Protected VarietiesVarieties

The holder has the sole authority to use the protected variety consisting of the right to exploit the propagating material of such variety as follows:

Production or propagation,

Conditioning for the purpose of propagation,

Offering for sale,

Sale or other marketing,

Market introduction for Member States and export to third countries,

Market introduction from Member States and import from third countries,

Stocking for the purposes above mentioned.

Disposal of the Legally Protected VarietiesDisposal of the Legally Protected Varieties

The holder might provide his consent with the use of the protected variety to a third person and to set up the license charge (the license shall be provided in writing).

The Act No 408/2000 Coll., amended in the end of the year 2005 regulates obligations of growers and processors to give information to holders of breeding rights at request:

Identification data of growers and processors,

Quantity of farm seed or planting material which was delivered for condition,

Information about the scope of farm seed or planting material used.

Disposal of the Legally Protected Disposal of the Legally Protected VarietiesVarieties

A processor who intends to perform conditioning of propagating material of protected varieties must notify the Institute in writing of this activity before its initiation.

In the case of duties default, an administrative offence is committed and a fine of up to CZK 500,000 (approx. 17 000 €), shall be assessed.

The Institute (namely law department) considers administrative offences in the first degree. In general the administrative offences are very rarely committed under the Act No 408/2000 Coll.

Enforcement of Plant Variety RightsEnforcement of Plant Variety Rights

A) Generally

New varieties have always got desirable characters which help the farmers to run the farm more efficiently and even sparingly to environment. New varieties originate in the breeding process and breeder use the fees from using his/her already breeding varieties to finance his/her work.

These fees are:

License fees from license contracts

Adequate compensation for the use of the farm seed or planting material (approximately 50 % of license fees)

B) The national legislation in the field of plant variety rights enforcement

The problems of plant variety rights enforcement is stipulated by the Act No 408/2000 Coll., on the protection of plant variety rights. Disputes resulting from legal relations established on the basis of this Act shall be discussed and decided by courts.

According to the Act No 99/1963 Coll., on Civil Procedure Court, as amended, Regional courts have jurisdiction according to the subject matter to deal with cases of industrial property claims (that also includes breeding rights) as a courts of first instance.

In disputes about compulsory payment there are two types of courts of first instance:

District Courts – the amount under 100.000,- Kč (less then 3.400,- €),

Regional Courts - the amount over 100.000,- Kč (more then 3.400,- €).

C) Authorized persons to reclaim plant variety rights

Holders of breeding rights,

Assignees to a license for a protected variety,

Professional organizations authorized to represent holders (Variety Owners´ Cooperative).

D) Actions and adjudication

Action for refraining from illegal acting and correcting the defect.

Action for compensation of damage

Action for reasonable satisfaction

Action for withdrawing from the circulation or destroying of the plant propagating material or harvested material

Civil courts

The court shall look to the interest of third parties, in particular of consumers and persons acting in good faith mainly if the measures for redress aim at the propagating material or the harvested material of a variety, which is not owned by the person violating the holder’s right.

An authorized person may claim at the court the rights mentioned above and similarly with respect to the intermediary, whose resources or services are used by third parties for the violation of rights

The court may in its judgment acknowledge to the authorized person, whose proposal was accepted, the right to publish the judgment at the expense of the violator, who did not prevail in the dispute, and depending on the conditions, determine the extent, form and method of publication.

Enforcement of Plant Variety Enforcement of Plant Variety Rights in PractiseRights in Practise

Variety Owners´ Cooperative

asserts plant variety rights claim,

is entitled to represent the breeding rights holders,

an association of corporate bodies and natural persons,

owners of plant varieties,

registered in the Czech Republic.

Enforcement of Plant Variety Enforcement of Plant Variety Rights in PractiseRights in Practise

According to the EU and national legislation CISTA is not an entitled authority to enforce plant variety rights, because no state authority is allowed to encroach upon private relationships.

That is the reason why CISTA has not got self-contained list about brought actions and results of litigations.

Due to information given by Variety Owners´ Cooperative it can be said that there is a high percentage of enforcement.

Concrete numbers will be probably presented by representative of Variety Owners´ Cooperative.

Enforcement of Plant Variety Rights in Enforcement of Plant Variety Rights in the Field of Ornamental Plantsthe Field of Ornamental Plants

According to CISTA information the judicial enforcement of plant variety rights is claimed mainly in the area of farm crop in contrast to the area of ornamental plants where no present trial is known.

In the Czech Republic the granting of variety protection in the area of ornamental plants is not very popular in contrasts to other EU members. Nowadays there are only ten registered ornamental plants in the Czech Republic, which are legally protected.

Nowadays there are running 64 administration proceedings about granting of plant variety rights in CISTA which shows gently increasing interest in this field.

Ten protected ornamental plants are registered by three subjects:

1. Výzkumný ústav Silva Taroucy pro krajinu a okrasné zahradnictví (CR), (The Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening)

2. Ing. Jan Zima (CR),

3. Elsner pac Jungpflanzen (D), represented by Ing. Jarmila Zimová in the Czech Republic

Variety Plant / species Rights protection

Mistr František Peterka

Dahlia pinnata Cav. Grant: 20-12-2005Validity till: 31-12-2030

List of Legally Protected Ornamental List of Legally Protected Ornamental Plants in the Czech RepublicPlants in the Czech Republic


Alenka Dahlia pinnata Cav.Grant: 20-12-2005Validity till: 31-12-2030

VarietyPlant / species

Rights protection

Blanka Petunia Juss. Grant: 11-11-2005Validity till: 31-12-2030

Variety Plant / speciesRights protection

Palisandra červená

Pelargonium-Zonale-Hybridae

Grant: 23-11-2005Validity till: 31-12-2030

Variety Plant / speciesRights protection

Black Velvet Scarlet

Pelargónie páskatáPelargonium-Zonale-Hybridae

Crant: 23-11-2005Validity till: 31-12-2030


Fontána Malus Mill.


OrangepenPelargonium-Zonale-Hybridae


PenvePelargonium-Zonale-Hybridae


MelodyPelargonium-Zonale-Hybridae


RobePelargónie páskatáPelargonium-Zonale-Hybridae


THANK YOU A LOT FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Petr VaculíkJaroslav Juřica

plant variety rights legislation in the czech republic

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