Abstract
Since Pakistan’s accession to the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement in 1995, legislation providing protection to the breeders of new plant varieties for the effective exploitation of their rights has sought to strike the balance between the rights of the biotechnology companies and the breeders of traditional plant varieties. In 2016, the Government of Pakistan enacted the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, which is principally designed after the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention. This article highlights the striking features of the new legislation, the extent of its harmonization with the UPOV 1991, and the provision that contravenes or stands in apparent conflict with the provisions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, resulting in the marginalization of farmers’ rights and suppressing of efforts towards conservation of genetic diversity for increasing food security in the country.
Notes
Art. 27(3)(b) TRIPS Agreement.
Sec. 11 PBRA-2016.
Sec. 7(4)(b) Patents Ordinance 2000.
Sec. 12 of the PBRA-2016.
Sec. 12(1)(e).
Sec. 14(2).
Sec. 14(3).
Sec. 2(viii).
Sec 27.
Sec. 2(x), Sec. 20.
Sec. 20(5).
Art. 14(5)(c) of UPOV 1991.
Sec. 22 and Sec. 38(1).
Regina Bailey, “Types of Vegetative Propagation”, 27 October 2017, available at www.thoughtco.com.
Sec. 23 of the PBRA-2016.
Sec. 25.
Kurtis R. Andrews, “Brown-baggers beware: Seed Companies Appear Poised to Enforce Plant Breeders’ Rights” 13 May 2014, posted on his legal Blog at www.kurtisandrews.ca/blog/.
Noble Research Institute, “Plant Variety Protection Law Enforcement Stepped Up: What Can You Do?” posted 1 May 2004.
Sec 13(2).
Sec. 32(5) and Sec. 32(6).
Sec. 33.
Sec. 7(4)(b) of the Patents Ordinance, 2000.
Sec. 2(v) of the PBRA-2016.
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Sadaf, N. Legislative Developments in the Protection of Plant Breeders’ Rights in Pakistan. IIC 49, 700–713 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40319-018-0711-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40319-018-0711-5