Many of our new cultivars are legally protected by a grant of Plant Breeders Rights (PBR).
Plant Breeder's Rights are exclusive commercial rights to a registered variety. The rights are a form of intellectual property, like patents and copyright, and are administered under the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994.
In relation to propagating material of a registered plant variety, owners of the vareity have exclusive rights to:
- produce or reproduce the material;
- condition the material for the purpose of propagation (conditioning includes cleaning, coating, sorting, packaging and grading);
- offer the material for sale;
- sell the material;
- import the material;
- export the material; and
- stock the material for any of the purposes described in (1) to (6).
Ultimately, home gardeners share the benefits of PBR protection. The flow of new cultivars into gardens and nurseries is largely dependent on royalties collected on PBR plants.
In essence, the PBR system gives developers and breeders of new plants a means for being rewarded for their work, and ensures that they direct their efforts towards developing commercially viable cultivars.
It is an offence under the Plant Breeders Rights Act 1994 to propagate or distribute PBR protected plants without a license.
More about Plant Breeders Rights here. |
