Canada s Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) Intellectual Property (IP) Framework

Transcription

1 Canada s Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) Intellectual Property (IP) Framework Presented to: Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) - AGM Date Presented: March 10, 2016 Name of Presenter/: Anthony Parker, PBR Commissioner anthony.parker@inspection.gc.ca 2011 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), all rights reserved. Use without permission is prohibited.

2 Objective Why is Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) important? Overview of UPOV and Canada s participation Role and function of the PBR Office Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) Advisory Committee 2

3 PBR: Why and What? Plant breeding is a time consuming, expensive, and resource intensive activity but plant varieties can quickly and easily be reproduced Potential risk for plagiarism and use of someone s innovation without permission or fair compensation PBR is a form intellectual property protection for the breeders of new plant varieties Voluntary user pays to obtain a statutory right for a finite duration (non-regulatory) Holder has a right to protect their variety in the marketplace and receive fair remuneration (royalty) for their innovation 3

4 What are the benefits for breeders? Can take legal action against unauthorized propagation and sales Can license propagators (growers) and define the terms and conditions of those agreements Exercise control over production of propagating material and prevent it from being stolen or illegally propagated Royalty collection - fee charged for each protected plant or bag of seed sold Royalties recoup initial investment, and encourage further reinvestment into breeding programs (private, public, producer, or partnership) 4

5 What are the benefits for producers? Fosters investment and a competitive marketplace Breeders develop better varieties (yield, disease resistance, stress tolerance, end-use characteristics, etc) Increased number and diversity of crops and varieties = more choice for producers and consumers International harmonization encourages foreign breeders to release varieties in Canada Balances interests (public/private & producer/breeder) 5

6 Knowledge & Revenue Breeders Rights = Farmer Benefits Technology Transfer /Added Value BREEDERS NEW VARIETIES FARMERS, GROWERS CONSUMERS 6

7 Union internationale pour la protection des obtentions végétales International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants Established in 1961 by Convention (revisions 1972, 1978, 1991) Convention defines the minimum scope of protection that member countries must offer for plant varieties To become a UPOV member a country must have a PBR law that is compliant with the current UPOV Convention Canada became a member in 1991 under the 1978 Convention As of 2002, all new UPOV members must accede to UPOV 91 7

8 UPOV Membership 72 countries and 2 intergovernmental organizations are UPOV members (green) 16 initiating States + 1 organization (brown) 8

9 Canada s Participation in UPOV = Canada plays an active role = Canada follows activities COUNCIL CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE (TC) Office of the Union ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL COMMITTEE (CAJ) Technical Working Party for Agricultural Crops (TWA) Technical Working Party for Fruit Crops (TWF) Technical Working Party for Ornamental Plants and Forest Trees (TWO) Technical Working Party for Vegetables (TWV) Technical Working Party on Automation and Computer Programs (TWC) Working Group on Biochemical and Molecular Techniques, and DNA- Profiling in Particular (BMT) 9

10 Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) Act Canada s PBR Act was passed August, 1990 Based on 1978 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 78) Intent of legislation is to: Stimulate investment in plant breeding in Canada Provide Canadian producers better access to foreign plant varieties Facilitate protection of Canadian varieties in other countries PBR Act was amended on February 27 th, 2015, in conformity with UPOV 91 Canada ratified UPOV 91 on June 19 th, 2015, and become bound by the Convention on July 19 th,

11 Canadian PBR Framework National Authority - PBR Office conducts PBR examinations and Commissioner decides on Grant of Rights Breeder Cooperation breeder or trial coordinator provides detailed information on the variety and conducts DUS Testing in accordance with Technical Guidelines. Public Disclosure all information about a variety is available Plant Variety Journal (PVJ) for public scrutiny and input National Authority PBR Breeder Cooperation Public Disclosure - PVJ 11

12 PBR Office Commissioner and 6 Examiners Perform a non-regulatory function PBR is a form of intellectual property (IP) protection, similar to patents, trademarks, and copyright View the PBR Office as a Case Worker, assisting the applicant to meet the requirements of the PBR Act, and obtain protection Premise: Good data + Strong processes + Good decisions = Strong protection Poor data + Weak processes + Bad decisions = Poor protection Role of the PBR Office ends once rights are granted, it is the responsibility of the rights holder to enforce their right in the marketplace! 12

13 Statistics Types of submissions Five year* average workload Applications for filing 330 Renewals processed 1695 Examinations conducted 282 Grants issued *based on a fiscal year (April 1 March 31) 13

14 Statistics Breakdown of applications 14

15 Statistics Breakdown of applications Totals to Dec 31 st, 2015: Total applications = 8763 Agricultural = 2311 (26%) Cereal = 525 (6%) Forage = 15 (0%) Oilseed = 908 (10%) Potato = 631 (7%) Pulse = 212 (2%) Misc. = 23 (0%) Horticultural = 6455 (74%) Fruit = 493 (6%) Ornamental = 5849 (67%) Vegetable = 94 (1%) Misc. = 14 (0%) 15

16 Plant Breeders Rights Act ADVISORY COMMITTEE 73. (1) The Minister shall constitute an advisory committee on any terms and conditions determined by the Minister. (2) The advisory committee shall be composed of persons appointed by the Minister from among representatives of organizations of breeders of plant varieties, dealers in seeds, growers of seeds, farmers, horticulturists and of any other interested persons considered appropriate by the Minister. (3) The function of the advisory committee is to assist the Commissioner in the application of this Act... 16

17 Background Membership and Role of Advisory Committee: Appointed for a three (3) year term Balanced representation at the national level; Input and dissemination of information to and from memberships; and, Examples of previous work and recommendations: drafting Regulations (amended 3 other times); species to first be prescribed in PBR Regulations; fee structure; policies (ex. Purchasing of Foreign DUS Test Reports); 10-year Impact Study; Plant Varieties Journal (paper ->electronic format); and, UPOV 91 amendments and ratification. 17

18 PBR Advisory Committee 18