Plant Breeders´ Rights Act, 2016

Exact source transcription retained, including print layout and extraction artifacts. Text SHA-256: 9cdd6df7d7c902bc01b9753fdc97af37c754e1b3ab4ca43763712bfee8dc11e9.

Page 1 of 22 
 
 
 
THE PLANT BREEDERS´ RIGHTS ACT, 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS 
              
1. Short title, extent and commencement. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 PRELIMINARY 
2. Definitions. 
 
CHAPTER II  
 
ADMINISTRATION 
 
3. The Plant Breeders' Rights Registry. 
 
4. Functions of the Registry. 
 
5. Officers and employees of the Registry. 
 
6. Functions of the Registrar. 
 
7. Registrar to have certain powers of the civil court. 
 
8.  Registry to carry a seal. 
 
9.  Register of protected plant varieties. 
 
10.  Establishment of the Plant Variety Protection Advisory Committee. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
APPLICATION FOR PROTECTION 
 
11.  Application for grant of plant breeders' rights. 
 
12.  Criteria for protection of plant breeders' rights. 
 
 

 
Page 2 of 22 
 
13.  Right to apply for a certificate. 
14.  Plant variety denomination. 
 
15.  Requirements for an application for protection of rights. 
 
16.  Testing. 
 
17.  Amending the application. 
 
18.  Advertisement of application. 
 
19.  Opposition to protection. 
 
20.  Protection of essentially derived variety. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
THE CERTIFICATE OF PLANT BREEDERS' RIGHTS 
 
21.  Issuance of the Certificate. 
 
22.  Rights of the plant breeders. 
 
23.  Provisional protection. 
 
24.  Term of the certificate. 
 
25.  Exceptions. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
SURRENDER, REVOCATION, RECTIFICATION OR CORRECTION OF  
REGISTER 
 
26.  Surrender of certificate. 
 
27.  Revocation of certificate by the Registrar. 
 
28.  Revocation of certificate by the High Court. 
 
29.  Payment of annual fee and forfeiture of certificate in default thereof. 
 
30.  Rectification or correction of register. 
 
31.  Alteration of denomination of a protected variety. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
BENEFIT SHARING 
32.  Benefit sharing. 
 
Page 3 of 22 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
COMPULSORY LICENSE 
 
33.  Power of Registrar to make order for compulsory license in certain circumstances. 
 
34.  Duration of compulsory license. 
 
35.  Revocation of compulsory license. 
 
36.  Modification of compulsory license. 
37.  Application of Seed Act, 1976. 
 
CHAPTERVIII 
 
 
INFRINGEMENT, OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 
 
38.  Suit for infringement etc. 
 
39.  Relief in suits for infringement. 
 
40.  Time limitation on an infringement suit, notice of infringement. 
 
41.  Offences and Penalties. 
 
42.  Transitional provision. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 
43.  Protection of action taken in good faith. 
 
44.  Non­resident certificate owners. 
 
45.  Incentives for the promotion of research and development. 
 
46.  Appeal. 
 
47.  Determination and collection of fee. 
 
48.  Power to make rules. 
 
49.  Removal of difficulty. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 4 of 22 
 
THE PLANT BREEDERS' RIGHTS ACT, 2016 
  
ACT NO. L OF 2016 
  [7th December, 2016] 
 
An Act to encourage the development of new plant varieties and to protect the rights of 
breeders of such varieties 
 
WHEREAS the establishment of a viable seed industry is essential to the food security in  
Pakistan to ensure the availability of high quality seeds and planting material to the farmers; 
 
AND WHEREAS it is expedient to make provisions for the development of new plant varieties 
and protection of the rights of breeders of such varieties providing exceptions to scientific researchers 
and farmers for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto; 
 
AND WHEREAS it is im perative to give effect to the provisions of subparagraph (b) of 
paragraph 3 of Article 27 in Part II of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property 
Rights (TRIPS) which the Government of Pakistan has ratified, relating to protection of new plant 
varieties; 
AND WHEREAS the Provincial Assemblies of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, 
and Sindh have passed resolutions under Article 144 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of 
Pakistan to the effect that Majlis­e­Shoora (Parliament) may regulate and make law on Plant 
Breeders'— Rights and matters connected therewith; 
 
It is hereby enacted as follows: 
1. Short title, extent and commencement. — (1) This Act may be called the Plant Breeders' 
Rights Act, 2016. 
 
(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan. 
 
(3) It shall come into force at once except the provisions of section 10, which shall come into 
force on such date as the Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 PRELIMINARY 
 
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or context, — 
 
(i) “applicant” means any natural or legal person who has submitted an 
application for the grant of Plant Breeders' Rights under this Act; 
 
 (ii) “breeder” means a natural or legal person, an institution, a farmer or an 
organization which has bred, discovered or developed a new plant variety; 
 
(iii) “Committee” means the Plant Variety Protection Advisory Committee 
established under section 10; 
 
Page 5 of 22 
 
(iv) “certificate” means the certificate of protect ion of plant breeders' right issued 
with regard to an essentially derived variety under subsection (3) of section 20 
or (with regards to a new plant variety) under section 21; 
 
(v)  “commercial” means a business activity related to the production, processing or 
merchandising seeds or propagating material including sale, distribution or 
resale for the purpose of making profit; 
 
(vi) “Convener” means the Convener of the Plant Variety Protection Advisory 
Committee appointed under section 10; 
 
(vii) “Director General” means the Director General of the Federal Seed Certification 
and Registration Department; 
 
(viii)  “Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) examination ” means plant 
variety examination for distinctness, uniformity and stability carried out by the 
Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department; 
 
(ix) “Department” means the Federal Seed Certification and Registration  
Department; 
 
(x) “essentially derived variety” means a variety derived from a protected variety 
where the protected varie ty is not itself an essentially derived variety, while it 
retains the expression of essential characteristics that result from the genotype 
or combination of genotypes of the initial variety and — 
 
(a) it is clearly distinguishable from such initial variety, and 
 
(b) it conforms (except for the differences which result from the act of 
derivation) to such initial v ariety in the expression of the essential 
characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of 
genotypes of such initial variety; 
 
(xi) “export” with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means to take 
out of Pakistan; 
 
(xii) “farmer” means any legal or natural person who cultivates crops either through 
cultivating land himself or through a person employed for the purpose; 
 
 (xiii) “genetically modified plant variety” means plant varieties which have been bred 
by genetic engineering involving molecular techniques that modify, recombine 
and transfer genes or segments of genetic material and includes recombinant 
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques that transfer genes or segments of 
genetic material between genotypes (species that have no probability of 
exchanging genes in nature) and shall also apply to plant varieties derived from 
a living modified organism; 
 
(xiv) “hybrid” means (1) the first generation offspring of a cross between two 
individuals (plants) differing in one or more genes; (2) the progeny of a cross 
between species of the same genus or of different genera;  
 
Page 6 of 22 
 
(xv) “import” with its grammatical variations and co gnate expressions means to 
bring into Pakistan; 
 
(xvi) “invention” means any new and useful product or process, in any field of 
technology and includes any new and useful improvement of either of them; 
 
(xvii)  “Local communities” means the human population in a distinct ecological area 
who depend directly on its biodiversity and ecosystem goods and services for 
all or part of their livelihood and who have developed or acquired traditional 
knowledge as a result of this dependence; 
 
(xviii) “Ministry” means Ministry of National Food Security and Research; 
 
(xix)  “National Bio­safety Committee ” means the committee established by the 
Federal Government under clause (d) of section 15; 
 
(xx) “plant” means a living organism classified in Kingdom Plantae; 
 
(xxi) “Plant Breeders' Rights Journal” means the journal published by the Registry; 
 
(xxii) “plant variety” means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the 
lowest known rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the cond itions for 
the grant of a new plant varieties are fully met, may be,— 
 
(a) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given 
genotype or combination of genotypes; 
 
(b) distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least 
one of the said characteristics; and 
 
(c) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability of the plant grouping 
for being propagated unchanged; 
 
(xxiii) “prescribed” means prescribed by the rules made under this Act;       
 
(xxiv) “protected variety” means a plant variety for which a certificate of protection of 
Plant Breeders' Rights has been issued under this Act; 
 
(xxv) “public sector research institution ” means a research institution unde r the 
control of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government receiving 
financial support from the Government; 
 
(xxvi) “register” means the register of protected plant varieties as provided under 
section 9; 
 
(xxvii)  “Registrar” means the Registrar appointed under section 5; 
 
(xxviii) “Registry” means the Plant Breeders' Rights Registry established under section      
3; 
 
 
Page 7 of 22 
 
(xxix) “rules” mean rules made under this Act; and 
 
(xxx) “terminator technology” means genetic modification that includes gene or gene 
sequences which restrict germination of the seed produced by the plant variety 
during the next subsequent year of ‘Planting’. 
 
CHAPTER-II 
ADMINISTRATION 
 
3. The Plant Breeders' Rights Registry. —(1) Notwithstanding the provisions contained in 
the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan Act, 2012(XXII of 2012), for the purposes of this 
Act, the Federal Government shall establish a Registry “The Plant Breeders' Rights Registry ” under 
the Ministry of National Food Security and Research. 
 
(2) The headquarter of the Registry shall be at Islamabad and for the purpose of facilitating the 
applicants, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research may, with the prior approval of the 
Federal Government, set up offices of the Registry at such places, as it may deem necessary, as and 
when required. 
 
(3) The Ministry of National Food Security and Research may, with the prior approval of the 
Federal Government, create posts and appoint such officers, employees, experts and consultants, as it 
may consider necessary for the performance of the functions of the Registry, having such qualifications 
and experience as may be prescribed. 
 
4. Functions of the Registry.— The Registry shall perform the following functions, namely: 
— 
 
(a) to facilitate protection of new plant varieties subject to such terms and 
conditions and in the manner as may be prescribed; 
 
(b) to issue certificates under this Act; 
 
(c) to ensure the maintenance of the register of protected plant varieties; 
 
(d) to promote the development of new varieties of plants, by such measures as it 
thinks fit, and to protect the rights of the farmers and breeders as provided under 
this Act; 
 
(e)  to manage characterization and documentation of varieties protected under this 
Act; 
 
(f) to collect statistics with regard to plant varieties, including the contribution of 
any person at any time in the evolution or development of any plant variety, in 
Pakistan or in any other country, for compilation and publication; and 
 
(g)  to take all actions necessary for its smooth functioning. 
 
5. Officers and employees of the Registry. —(1) The Federal Government shall appoint a 
Registrar who shall execute the activities of the Registry with the assistance of such officers and staff 
 
Page 8 of 22 
 
as may be appointed under sub­section (3) of section 3 and shall be under the administrative control 
of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research. 
 
(2) The Registry shall funct ion under the direct supervision of the Registrar who shall 
coordinate its activities with the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department. The Registrar 
may, with the prior approval of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research delegat e any of 
its powers and functions to any other officer of the Registry. 
 
(3) The Registrar with the consent of the Director General may advise the Federal Government 
to transfer as many officers arid officials as it may deem fit from Federal Seed Certifica tion and 
Registration Department for the proper functioning of the Registry. 
 
6. Functions of the Registrar. — (1) The Registrar shall, — 
 
(a) execute and implement policy directives, rules, regulations and resolutions 
issued by the Federal Government or Ministry, as the case maybe; 
 
(b) carry out the administration, management and functiona l activities of  the 
Registry;— 
 
(c) suggest measures for the enco uragement and development of new varieties of 
plants and to protect the rights of farmers and breeders; 
 
(d) impose any terms and conditions for research and experimental use or export of 
any registered plant variety developed from local genetic resources; 
 
(e) request the advice of the Plant Variety Protection Advisory Committee in case 
of any dispute; 
 
(f) develop characterization and documentation of varieties protected under this 
Act; and 
(g)  to facilitate cataloguing of all varieties of plants. 
(2) In the discharge of his functions, the Registrar shall coordinate with the Director General, 
from time to time. 
 
7. Registrar to have certain powers of the c ivil court.— Subject to any rules made in this 
behalf, the Registrar in any proceedings before him under this Act shall have the powers of a civil 
court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Proce dure, 1908 (Act V of 1908), in respect of the 
following matters, namely: — 
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on 
oath; 
 
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; 
 
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits; 
 
(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents; and 
 
Page 9 of 22 
 
(e) awarding costs. 
 
8. Registry to carry a seal . There shall be a seal of the Registry and all orders and decisions 
of the Registrar shall be issued under the seal. 
 
(2) For the purposes of this Act a new plant variety shall be deemed to be. — 
 
9. Register of protected plant varieties.— For the purposes of this Act, a Register of protected 
plant varieties shall be kept at the Registry under the supervision of the Regist rar. Names of all the 
plant varieties protected under this Act along with the names and addresses of respective breeders, the 
right of such breeders in respect of the protected variety, the particulars of the denomination of each 
protected variety, its seeds or other propagating material along with specification and salient features 
thereof and such other matters as may be prescribed shall be entered in this Register. 
 
10. Establishment of the Plant Variety Protection Advisory Committee. — (1) The Federal 
Government shall establish a Plant Variety Protection Advisory Committee consisting of a Convener 
and such other members from the public and private sectors, as it may deem fit. 
 
(2) The Committee shall advise the Ministry or the Registrar, as the case may  be, on such 
scientific and technical issues which may be referred to it. 
 
(3) An officer, not below the level of a Director of the Registry, shall be ex­officio Secretary of 
the Committee. 
 
(4) The Committee shall meet as and when required to perform its functions. 
 
(5) The Committee may co­opt any other person who is an expert in a specific field of 
technology when a question related to that field of technology is under consideration. 
 
(6) The Committee may, with the prior approval of the Ministry, make r ules for regulating its 
business. 
 
CHAPTER-III 
 
APPLICATION FOR PROTECTION 
11. Application for grant of plant breeders' rights. — Any person specified in section 13 
may make an application for grant of plant breeders' rights to the Registrar for protection of a new 
plant variety of the genera or species prescribed by the Federal Government. 
 
12. Criteria for protection of plant bree ders' rights. — (1) A new plant variety shall be 
protected under this Act, if it conforms to the criteria of novelty, distinctness, uniformity, stability and 
designated by an acceptable denomination. 
(2) For the purposes of this Act a new plant variety shall be deemed to be,— 
 
(a) novel, provided that that— 
 
(i) it has not been sold or marketed by or with the agreement of the 
applicant, for more than one year in Pakistan before filing of the 
application for a certificate under this Act; 
 
Page 10 of 22 
 
 
(ii) it has not been sold or marketed by or with the agreement of the 
applicant, for more than six years in the case of trees or vines and for 
more than four years in the case of all other plants in a foreign country 
before filing of the application for a certificate under this Act; 
 
(b) distinct, if it clearly differs by one or more identifiable morphological, 
physiological or other characteristics from any other variety whose existence is 
a matter of common knowledge on the date of this application. In particular, the 
filing of an application for granting of a certificate for another variety or for 
entering of another variety in the Register, in any country, shall be deemed to 
render the other variety a matter of common knowledge from the date of the 
application, provided that the application leads to the granting of a certificate or 
to the entering of the said other variety in the register of varieties, as the case 
may be; 
 
(c) uniform, if subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular 
features of its propag ation, it is sufficiently uniform in its essential 
characteristics; 
 
(d) stable, if its relevant characteristics remain unchanged after repeated 
propagation or in the case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each 
such cycle; and 
 
(e) acceptable denomination, if the denomination given to such variety is capable 
of identifying such variety and must not be liable to mislead or to cause 
confusion concerning the characteristics, value or identity of the variety or the 
identity of its breeder and must also not be contrary to law, public order or 
ethics. 
13. Right to apply for a certificate. — (1) An application for protection under section 15 may 
be made by,— 
(a) the owner of a variety or his successor in title subject to the conditions and 
requirement of this Act. For the purposes of this clause the owner shall be the 
breeder or discoverer of the variety or the successor in title or either of them. 
The owner may be a natural or legal person, but where the applicant is a legal 
person, the breeder of the variety shall be named in the application; and 
(b) any person authorized in the prescribed manner by a person specified under 
clause (a), to make the application on his behalf. 
 
(2) In proceedings before the Registrar for the grant of a certificate, the applicant shall be 
deemed to be entitled to such a grant. In the case where two or more breeders independently develop 
the same variety and apply for protection, the entitlement for rights shall rest with the person who first 
applied for protection. 
 
(3) When two or more persons have jointly bred or discovered the variety for which protection 
is sought, they shall be considered joint breeders. One joint breeder may file an application for Plant 
 
Page 11 of 22 
 
Breeders' Rights naming all of the joint breeders. A Certificate of Plant Breeders' Rights shall be issued 
in the name of all of the joint breeders. 
 
(4) The legal representative of a deceased breeder and of those under legal incapacity may 
apply for a certificate on behalf of such person under the sa me conditions and requirements as apply 
to other owners of varieties. 
 
(5) In case of public sector breeders, the institute that develops the plant variety shall be entitled 
to apply for a certificate and the plant variety-developing institute directly inv olved in the research 
will be entitled to rights. 
 
(6) The breeders working in the public sector will be eligible to register a variety under their 
own name at least five years after retirement or leaving government service. 
 
(7) In case of private sector employed breeders, the employer company or breeder that develops 
the plant variety shall be entitled to apply for a certificate: 
 
Provided that the breeders' right for new plant variety during the course of his employment in 
the area of activity of the emp loyer shall, in the absence of contractual obligation to the contrary, 
belong to the breeder, unless the employer proves that the new variety could not have been made 
without the use of employer's facilities, equipment necessary for the development of new plant variety. 
(8) The plant breeders from private sector will have to give a certificate or affidavit to the effect 
that the variety has, or has not, been developed at any stage utilizing the breeding material obtained 
from public sector research institution. 
14. Plant variety denomination .— Every applicant in his application shall assign an 
appropriate 
and distinct denomination in accordance with the prescribed rules to a variety with respect to which 
the applicant is seeking rights under this Act. 
 
(2) Where the denomination assigned to the variety does not satisfy the requirements specified 
in the rules, the Registrar may require the applicant to propose another denomination within such time 
as may be prescribed. 
 
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Trade Marks Ordinance 2001 (XIX of 2001), a 
denomination assigned to a variety shall not be protected as a mark. 
 
15. Requirements for an application for protection of rights. — Every application for 
protection shall,— 
 
(a) be with respect to a new plant variety; 
 
(b) state an appropriate denomination assigned to such variety by the applicant; 
 
(c) be accompanied by an affidavit sworn by the applicant declaring that such 
variety does not contain any gene or gene sequence involving terminator 
technology; 
 
 
Page 12 of 22 
 
(d) in case of genetically modified plant variety, provide a certificate from the 
National Bio­ safety Committee constituted by the Federal Government to this 
effect that the genetically modified plant variety shall have no adverse effect on 
the environment, human, animal or plant life and health; 
 
(e) be in such form as may be prescribed; 
 
(f) contain a complete identification data of the parental lines from which the 
variety has been derived along with the geographical location in or outside 
Pakistan fro m where the genetic material has been taken setting forth its 
novelty, parentage or pedigree, breeding history and a drawing or photograph 
to understand and evaluate the novelty of the variety; 
 
(g) be accompanied by written consent of th e authority representing public sector, 
private sector or the local community in case where the plant variety is 
developed from traditional varieties; 
 
(h) be supported by documents relating to the compliance of any law regulating 
access to genetic or biological resources; 
 
(i) be accompanied by a statement containing a brief description of the variety 
bringing out its characteristics of novelty, distinctness, uniformity and stability 
as required for protection and descriptions, DNA profile and drawings or 
photographs which disclose clearly the distinctive characteristics of the variety 
from other varieties of the same crop; 
 
(j) be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed; 
 
(k) be filed in the Registry; and 
 
(l) be accompanied by proof of the right to make the application, where such 
application is made by virtue of a succession or an assignment of the right for 
protection. 
 
16. Testing. — (1) Every applicant shall, along  with the application made under section 13, 
make available to the Registrar such quantities of seeds or propagating material, of a variety in respect 
of which protection is sought by way of such an application, as required for the purpose of conducting 
“Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) ” tests to evaluate whether such variety along wi th 
parental material conform to the prescribed standards as may be specified by regulations. 
 
(2) The Registrar may make reference for the conduct of distinctness, uniformity and stability 
DUS trials or any other specific test required to the Federal See d Certification and Registration 
Department as may be prescribed: 
 
Provided that the Registrar or Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department to whom 
such seed has been sent for conducting the tests shall keep such seed in such manner and in suc h 
condition that its viability and quality shall remain unaltered as may be prescribed. Its access to 
unauthorized person shall not be allowed. Similarly, data of parental lines and other documents shall 
be protected from disclosure to unauthorized persons. Any violation by any person shall be penalized 
as prescribed in rules. 
 
Page 13 of 22 
 
 
(3) The applicant shall deposit such Fee charges as may be prescribed for conducting the tests 
referred to in sub­sections (1) and (2). 
 
(4) The tests under sub­sections (1) and (2) shall be conducted in such manner and by such 
method as may be prescribed. 
 
17. Amending the application. — (1) On receipt of an application, the Registrar may, within 
three months after making any such inquiry, as he thinks fit with respect to the particu lars contained 
in such application, accept the application or make the acceptance subject to such conditions or 
limitations as he may deem fit. 
 
(2) Where the Registrar is satisfied that the application does not comply with the requirements 
of this Act or any rules made thereunder, he may, 
 
(a) require the applicant to amend the application to his satisfaction; or 
 
(b) reject the application: 
 
Provided that no application shall be rejected unless a notice has been given to the applicant 
stating the grounds for rejection and the applicant has been given an opportunity of presenting his case 
in person or through his authorized agent, as the case may be. 
 
18. Advertisement of application.—Where an application for protection of a variety has been 
accepted, the Registrar shall as soon as is practicable after such acceptance, cause such application to 
be advertised in the prescribed manner together with the conditions or limitations, if any, subject to 
which it has been accepted and the specifications of the variety for protection of which such application 
is made including its photographs or drawings, calling for objections from any person interested in the 
matter. 
 
19. Opposition to protection. — (1) At any time, within four months from the date of 
advertisement of an application under section 18, any person may give notice in writing and with 
documentary evidence to the Registrar of opposition to the grant of rights, on payment of the prescribed 
fee and on any of the following grounds, namely;— 
 
(a) that the person opposing the application is entitled to the rights for the new 
variety as against the applicant; 
 
(b) that the variety is not protectable within the meaning of this Act; 
 
(c) that the grant of a certificate may not be in the public interes t or against public 
order; or 
 
(d) that the variety may have adverse effects on the environment, human, animal or 
plant health. 
 
(2) Where a notice is given under sub­section (1), the Registrar shall give a notice of the 
opposition to the applicant, along  with a copy of such notice of opposition, within two months from 
the receipt of the notice of opposition and the applicant shall send within two months of the receipt of 
 
Page 14 of 22 
 
this notice of opposition to the Registrar a counter statement of the grounds on which he relies for his 
application, and if he does not do so, he shall be deemed to have abandoned his application. 
 
(3) If the applicant sends such a counter statement, the Registrar shall serve a copy thereof on 
the person giving notice of opposition. 
 
(4) Any evidence upon which the opponent and the applicant may rely shall be submitted in 
the manner prescribed and within the time prescribed, to the Registrar and the Registrar shall give to 
the applicant and the opponent an opportunity of being heard. 
 
(5) The Registrar shall, after hearing the applicant and the opponent, and after due 
consideration of the evidence decide whether and subject to what conditions or limitations, if any, the 
right to be granted. 
 
(6) Where a person giving notice of opposition  or an applicant sending a counter statement 
after receipt of a copy of such notice neither resides nor carries on business in Pakistan, the Registrar 
may require him to give security for the costs of proceedings before him and in default of such security 
being given may treat the opposition or application, as the case may be, as abandoned. 
 
(7) The Registrar may, on request, permit correction of any error in, or any amendment of, a 
notice of opposition or a counter statement on such terms as he may think fit. 
 
(8) The Registrar shall consider all the grounds on which the application has been opposed and 
after giving reasons thereof, by order, uphold or reject the opposition. 
 
(9) When a new plant variety is protected by the Registrar, he shall issue a certificate in terms 
of section 24. 
 
20. Protection of essentially derived variety .— (1) An application for the protection of an 
essentially derived variety of the genera or species prescribed by the Federal Government may be made 
to the Registrar by or on behalf of any person referred to in section 13 and in the manner specified in 
section 15 as if for the word “variety” the words “essentially derived variety” have been substituted 
therein and shall be accompanied by such documents and fee as may be prescribed. 
 
(2) On receipt of an application under sub­section (1), the Registrar shall have any such 
essentially derived variety examined in order to determine as to whether the essentially derived variety 
is a variety derived from the initial variety by conducting such tests and following such procedure as 
may be prescribed.  
(3) When the Registrar is satisfied on the report of the test referred to in sub­section (2) as to 
the fact that the essentially derived variety has been derived from the initial variety, he may enter such 
variety in the Register and issue a certificate to this effect. 
 
(4) Where the Registrar is not satisfied on the report of the test referred in sub­section (2) that 
the essentially derived variety has been derived from the initial variety he shall reject the application. 
 
(5) The rights of the breeder of a new plant variety contained in this Act shall also apply to the 
breeder of an essentially derived variety: 
 
 
Page 15 of 22 
 
Provided that the authorization by the breeder of the initial variety to the breeder of essentially 
derived variety may be subject to such terms and conditions as both the parties may mutually agreed 
upon. 
 
(6) An essentially derived variety shall not be protected under this section unless it satisfies the 
requirements of section 18 as if for the word “variety”, the words “essentially derived variety” have 
been substituted therein. 
 
CHAPTER-IV 
 
THE CERTIFICATE OF PLANT BREEDERS' RIGHTS 
 
21. Issuance of the Certificate. The certificate shall be issued, on payment of such fee as may 
be prescribed, in the name of the Government of Pakistan and shall be signed by the Registrar. The 
certificate shall be recorded in the Regi ster and the record s hall be made publicly available during 
ordinary business hours. Notice of issuance of the certificate shall be published in the Plant Breeders' 
Rights Journal. There shall be annexed to the certificate a definitive description of the protected plant 
variety. 
22. Rights of the plant breeders. — (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act the owner of a 
protected variety shall have the following exclusive rights in respect of that variety, namely;— 
 
(a) offering for sale or selling or marketing of the reproductive or vegetative 
propagating material of the protected variety in Pakistan; 
  
(b) importing the reproductive or vegetative propagating material of the protected 
variety into Pakistan or exporting it from Pakistan; 
 
(c) conditioning or multiplying the reproductive or vegetative propagating material 
of the protected variety; 
 
(d) carrying out any of the acts identified in clauses (a), (b), and (c) in relation to 
an essentially derived variety provided the protected variety is not itself an 
essentially derived variety; 
 
(e)  instigating or promoting any of the acts identified in clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d); 
 
(f) authorizing any person to produce, sell, market or otherwise deal with a 
protected variety; and 
 
(g) stocking for any of the purposes mentioned in clauses (a) to (d). 
 
(2) Subject to any other provision of this Act no other person shall perform any of the acts 
mentioned in sub­section (1) without the prior authorization of the owner. 
 
23. Provisional protection.— For the period between the filing of the application and the grant 
of a certificate, the owner of the certificate shall be entitled to equitable remuneration from any person 
who, during the said period, which once the certificate was issued, would fall within owner's rights to 
exclude others under section 22. 
 
 
Page 16 of 22 
 
24. Term of the certificate. Subject to section 29, the term of the certificate shall be twenty-
five years in the case of trees and vines and twenty years in the case of all other plants from the date 
of filing of the application. 
 
25. Exceptions.— Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent, — 
 
(a) any act done privately on a non­commercial basis; 
 
(b) any act done for scientific research or plant br eeding as an initial source of 
variety for the purpose of creating other varieties provided that the authorization 
of the breeder of a protected variety shall be required where the repeated use of 
such variety as a parental line is necessary for commercial production of such 
other newly developed variety; 
 
(c) any act done for t he purpose of breeding other plant varieties and any act 
referred to in section 20 in respect of such other plant varieties, except where 
such other plant varieties have been essentially derived from the protected plant 
variety; 
 
(d) a farmer to be entitled to save, use, sow, re­sow, exchange, share or sell his farm 
produce provided that the farmer shall not be entitled to sell seed of a variety 
protected under this Act on a commercial basis without complying with the 
requirements of Seed Act, 1976 (XXIX of 1976), and regulations made therein; 
and 
 
(e) any exchange of propagating materials among farmers as may be specified in 
the regulations. 
 
CHAPTER-V 
 
SURRENDER, REVOCATION, RECTIFICATION OR CORRECTION OF REGISTER 
 
26. Surrender of certificate.— The holder of a certificate under this Act may, at any time by 
giving notice in the prescribed manner to the Registrar, surrender his certificate in such manner as may 
be prescribed. 
 
27. Revocation of certificate by the Registrar.— At any time within twelve months after the 
grant of a certificate, any person interested who did not oppose the grant of the certificate may make 
an application to the Registrar for an order revoking the certificate on any one or more of the grounds 
upon which the grant of the certificate could have been opposed: 
 
Provided that when an action for infringement or proceedings for the revocation, of a certificate 
is pending in any court, an application to the Registrar under this section shall not be made except with 
the leave of the court. 
 
28. Revocation of certificate by the High Court. — Subject to the provisions of this Act, a 
certificate may, on the petition of any person interested or of the Federal Government or on a 
counterclaim in a suit for infringement of the certificate, be revoked in  part or in whole by the High 
Court on any one or more of the grounds upon which grant of certificate may be refused: 
 
 
Page 17 of 22 
 
Provided that a notice of any petition for revocation of a certificate under this section shall be 
served on all persons appearing from the register to be the owner of that certificate or to have interest 
therein. 
 
29. Payment of annual fee and forfeiture of certificate in default thereof. — (1) The Federal 
Government may prescribe a fee to be paid annually by every owner of a certificate under this Act 
subject to such conditions and procedures as may be prescribed. 
 
(2) If the owner of the certificate fails to pay the fee as under sub­section (1), the Registrar may 
forfeit the certificate in the manner as may be prescribed. 
30. Rectification or correction of register. — (1) Any person having sufficient interest may, 
on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, apply for the rectification of an error or omission in the 
Register: 
 
Provided that an application for rectification may not be made  in respect of a matter affecting 
the validity of the certificate. 
 
(2) An application for rectification may be made to the Registrar except that, — 
 
(a) if proceedings concerning the certificate in question are pending in the High 
Court, the application shall be made to the High Court; and 
 
(b) in case the application is made to the Registrar, he may at any stage of the 
proceedings refer the application to the High Court. 
 
(3) The Registrar on his own motion may, after giving notice in the prescribed manne r to the 
parties concerned and after giving them an opportunity of being heard, make any rectification of an 
error or omission in the Register. 
 
(4) Except where the Registrar or the High Court directs otherwise, the effect of rectification 
of the register shall be that the error or omission in question shall be deemed never to have been made. 
 
31. Alteration of denomination of a protected variety .—(1) The breeder of a variety 
protected under this Act may apply in the prescribed manner to the Registrar to delete any part or to 
add or alter the denomination of such variety in any manner not substantially affecting the identity 
thereof, and the Registrar may refuse or may grant leave to amend on such terms and subject to such 
limitations as he may think fit a nd subject to the rules to avoid any conflict with the rights of other 
breeders of the varieties protected under this Act. 
 
(2) The Registrar may cause an application under this section to be advertised in the prescribed 
manner in any case where it appears to him that it is expedient to do so, and where he does so, if within 
sixty days from the date of the advertisement any person gives notice to the Registrar in the prescribed 
manner of opposition to the application, the Registrar shall, after hearing the parties if so required, 
decide the matter. 
 
(3) Where leave is granted under this section, the denomination of the variety as altered shall 
be advertised in the prescribed manner, unless the application has already been advertised under sub­ 
section (2). 
 
Page 18 of 22 
 
CHAPTER-VI 
BENEFIT SHARING 
32. Benefit sharing.—(1) On receipt of copy of the certificate of protection, the Registrar shall 
publish such contents of the certificate and invite claims of benefit sharing to the variety protected 
under such certificate in the manner as may be prescribed. 
 
(2) On invitation of the claims under sub­section (1), any person or group of persons or firm or 
governmental or non­governmental organization shall submit its claim of benefit sharing to such 
variety in the prescribed form within such period, and accompanied with such fees, as may be 
prescribed: 
 
Provided that such claim shall only be submitted by any,— 
 
(a) person or group of persons, if such person or every person constituting such 
group is a citizen of Pakistan; or 
 
(b) firm or governmental or non­governmental organization, if such firm or 
organization is formed or established in or outside Pakistan. 
 
(3) On receiving a claim under sub­section (2), the Registrar shall send a copy of such claim to 
the breeder of the variety protected under such certificate and the breeder may, on receipt of such copy, 
submit his opposition to such claim within such period and in such manner as may be prescribed. 
 
(4) The Registrar shall, after giving an opportunity of being heard to the parties, dispose of the 
claim received under sub­section (2). 
 
(5) While disposing of the claim under sub­section (4), the Registrar shall explicitly indicate 
in its order the amount of the benefit sharing, if any, for which the claimant shall be entitled and shall 
take into consideration the following matters, namely: — 
 
(a) the extent and nature of the use of ge netic material of the claimant in the 
development of the variety relating to which the benefit sharing has been 
claimed; and 
 
(b) the commercial utility and demand in the market of the variety relating to which 
the benefit sharing has been claimed. 
 
(6) The amount of benefit sharing to a variety determined under this Act shall be deposited by 
the breeder of such variety in the manner prescribed. The amount of benefit sharing shall be determined 
under this Act on a reference made to the Registrar in the prescribed manner. 
 
CHAPTER-VII 
COMPULSORY LICENSE 
 
33. Power of Registrar to make order for compulsory license in certain circumstances. —
(1) Subject to sub­section (2), where,— 
(a) the public interest, in particular the nutrition or health so requires; 
 
Page 19 of 22 
 
(b) the Registrar has determined that the manner of exploitation, by the owner of 
the certificate or his licensee, is anti­competitive; 
(c) reasonable requirements of the public for seeds or other propagating material of 
the variety have not been satisfied or that the seed or other propagating material 
of the variety is not available to the public at a reasonable price; 
 
(d) the owner of the certificate r efuses to grant a license to a third party on 
reasonable commercial terms and condition s; or the right under the certificate 
has not been exploited in a manner which contributes to the promotion, transfer 
and dissemination of technology; and 
 
(e) the Registrar may after the expiry of three years from the date of grant of a 
certificate and after seeking advice of the Committee, even without the consent 
of the owner of the certificate decide that a Government agency, or a third 
person who makes an applic ation to the Registrar in the prescribed manner in 
this behalf, may exploit the rights under the certificate. 
 
(2) The Registrar shall, before taking any decision under sub­section (1), give the owner of the 
certificate and the interested person an opportunity of being heard. 
 
(3) The exploitation of rights under the certificate shall be limited to the purpose for which it 
was authorized, subject to payment to the said owner of an adequate remuneration thereof, taking into 
account the economic value of the authorization, and subject to such terms and conditions as may be 
prescribed. 
 
34. Duration of compulsory license .— The Registrar shall determine the duration of the 
compulsory licenses granted under this Act and such duration may vary from case to case kee ping in 
view the gestation periods of the plant variety and other relevant facts but in any case the term of 
compulsory license shall not exceed five years from the date of grant. 
 
35. Revocation of compulsory license .— If the Registrar, on his own motion o r on an 
application made in the prescribed manner to the Registrar by a person aggrieved of the grant of a 
compulsory license under this Act, is satisfied that the licensee has violated any of the terms or 
conditions of the license or it is not appropriate to continue such license further in the public interest, 
after giving such licensee an opportunity to file opposition and of being heard, make an order to revoke 
such license. 
 
36. Modification of compulsory license.— The Registrar may, if he considers it in the public 
interest, on his own motion or on application made by the holder of a compulsory license under this 
Act, after providing an opportunity of being heard to the owner of the certificate under this Act, order 
modification of the entries in the Register on such terms and conditions as he may thinks fit. 
 
37. Application of Seed Act, 1976 . Nothing provided or granted by, or under, this Act shall 
be construed as conferring authority for,— 
 
(a) any seed to be sold, imported, exported or advertised; or 
(b) any name, mark or label to be applied in connection with any seed, contrary to 
the Seed Act, 1976 (XXIX of 1976) or regulations made thereunder. 
 
Page 20 of 22 
 
CHAPTER-VIII 
 
INFRINGEMENT, OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 
 
38. Suit for infringement etc. —(1) Subject to the p rovisions of this Act, any action in 
violation of the provisions of sub­section (1) of section 22 shall be deemed to be an infringement 
including using a variety protected under this Act without legal authorization, to produce an essentially 
derived variety or F1 hybrid for commercial utilization. 
 
(2) No suit, — 
 
(a) for the infringement of a variety protected under this Act; or 
 
(b) relating to any right in a variety protected under this Act; shall be instituted in 
any court inferior to the Court of District Judge having jurisdiction to try the 
suit. 
 
(3) For the pur pose of clauses (a) and (b) of sub­section (2), “Court of District Judge having 
jurisdiction” shall mean the Court of District Judge within the local limit of whose jurisdiction the 
cause of action arises. 
 
39. Relief in suits for infringement .—(1) The relief which a court may grant in any suit for 
infringement referred to in section 38 may include an injunction and at the option of the plaintiff, either 
damages or a share of the profits. 
 
(2) An order under sub­section (1) may include an order for, 
 
(a)  discovery of documents; 
 
(b)  preserving of infringing variety, documents or other evidence which are related 
to the subject matter of the suit; or 
 
(c)  attachment of such property of the defendant which the court deems necessary 
to recover damages, costs or other pecuniary remedies which may finally be 
awarded to the plaintiff: 
 
(3) A court of competent jurisdiction, having ruled in favour of the owner of the certificate, 
shall decree an appropriate remedy. In every case, the court may award damages to the owner of the 
right at least equal in amount to the losses suffered by the owner or any other relief which the court 
may deem appropriate. 
 
40. Time limitation on an infringement suit, not ice of infringement. —(1) No suit for 
infringement of a certificate shall be brought after three years following any alleged occurrence of 
infringement. 
(2) Damages will not be assessed against a defendant for infringement committed before actual 
or constructive notice is given to the defendant that the concerned variety is a protected plant variety. 
Constructive notice may be given by marking the container of the protected variety, or by any other 
appropriately visible indication that the variety is protected. 
 
 
Page 21 of 22 
 
41. Offences and Penalties .— Penalties for contravention of this Act or rules framed 
thereunder, shall be prescribed. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 
42. Transitional provision .— The plant varieties already registered and released or 
commercialized which do not conform to the criteria of novelty may apply for a certificate within two 
years of the commencement of this Act. If the certificate is granted, the term of certificate will be 
reduced by the number of years between the time the variety was released, r egistered or 
commercialized and the time the application for a certificate was submitted. 
 
43. Protection of action taken in good faith.— No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings 
shall lie against the Federal Government, the Ministry, the Department,  the Registrar or any other 
person acting on behalf of or under instructions from, the Federal Government, the Ministry, the 
Department, the Committee or the Registrar directly or under the provisions of this Act, for anything 
which is in good faith done o r intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule, regulation, 
scheme or order made thereunder. 
 
44. Non­resident certificate owners. — Each owner of a certificate not residing in Pakistan 
shall designate in writing the name and address of a natural or legal person on whom judicial and other 
notices may be served. 
 
45. Incentives for the promotion of research and development.— (1) The Federal 
Government and each of the Provincial Governments shall constitute a Research Incentive Board 
which shall recommend to the respective Governments, incentives for the promotion of research and 
development, including incentives for research scientists and their teams involved in developing new 
plant varieties: 
 
Provided that in case of an applicant under sub­section (4) of section 13, the scientist, breeder 
or a group of scientists or breeders and their team involved in the development of a new plant variety 
shall be entitled to a minimum of forty percent of the royalty or the profits gained by the institute 
through any commercial deal: 
 
Provided further that the Federal Government or the Provincial Governments, as the case may 
be, by notification in the official Gazette make rules for carrying out the purposes of this section. 
 
(2) The rules related to determinatio n and implementation of royalty on the protected plant 
varieties shall be prescribed. 
46. Appeal.— Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Registrar or the Court of District 
Judge may, within sixty days of the decision, prefer an appeal to High Court having jurisdiction. 
 
47. Determination and collection of fee.— The Federal Government may, by notification in 
the official Gazette, prescribe a schedule of fee and charges for services rendered to the applicants and 
the public under this Act and any fee or amount collected shall be deposited in the manner as may be 
prescribed. 
 
 
Page 22 of 22 
 
48. Power to make rules. The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, 
make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. 
 
49. Removal of difficulty.— If any difficultly arises in giving effect to the provisions of this 
Act, the Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make such provisions, not 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as may appear to be necessary for removing the difficulty. 
 
 
                                               _________________