Plant Variety Protection Act, 2014

Section Application of the Act Section This Act applies to— This Act does not affect the following— plant varieties under both in situ and ex situ conditions; derivatives of the plant varieties; plant breeders; and export of seeds of plant varieties. the traditional method of access, use or exchange of knowledge, technologies, and plant varieties by local and between local communities; the sharing of benefits based upon the customary practices of the local communities concerned, except that paragraph 2 (a) shall not apply to any person or persons not living in the traditional and customary way of life relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and the access to plant varieties, indigenous knowledge, innovation or technology solely for educational purposes.

Section Purpose of the Act Section The purpose of this Act shall be to— recognize and protect the rights of breeders over the varieties developed by them; promote appropriate mechanisms for a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of plant varieties, knowledge and technologies; provide appropriate institutional mechanisms for the effective implementation and enforcement of the rights of breeders; promote improvements in the productivity, profitability, stability and sustainability of cropping systems through yield enhancement and maintenance of plant varieties; and promote the supply of good quality seed or planting material to farmers in order to strengthen the food security of the nation.

Section Interpretation Section In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— " assignee " means the person to whom rights have been assigned by a breeder ; " breeder " means— (a) a person who bred or discovered in relation to the use of a plant variety and developed the plant variety ; (b) the employer of the person to whom paragraph (a) applies or any person who has commissioned the person’s work; or (c) the successor in title of the first person mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b), as the case may be; " breeder’s right " means the right of the breeder provided for in this Act; " committee " means a committee established by section 4 ; " court " means the High Court of Uganda; " currency point " has the value assigned to it in the First Schedule; " derivative " means a product developed or extracted from plant varieties, a derivative may include such products as oils, resins, gums, protein; " ex-situ conditions " means the conditions in which plant varieties are found outside their natural habitats; " innovation " includes— (a) any new alteration, modification, improvement of collective and cumulative knowledge or technology; (b) the use of properties and processes of any pl...

Section Registrar Section The Office shall be headed by a Registrar , who shall be responsible for maintaining a register of plant varieties which are entitled to protection under this Act. The Registrar shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Office . The Registrar shall be answerable to the Commissioner for crop protection in the implementation of the provisions of the Act.

Section Functions of the Office Section The functions of the Office are to— receive and examine applications for the registration of plant breeders’ rights; assign the testing of the applicant’s variety to the National Seed Certification Services unit in the Ministry responsible for agriculture or any relevant body; publish applications of the plant breeders’ rights in the Gazette ; publish any objection against an application of the plant breeders’ rights and conduct a hearing of the objection; register and issue certificates for plant breeders’ rights; maintain the register for the plant breeders’ rights; protect breeders’ rights; and co-ordinate with relevant stakeholders in the implementation of this Act.

Section Designation of officers Section The Minster shall designate— a Registrar of plant varieties who shall exercise and perform the functions of the office under this Act; and examiners, officers and other staff as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

Section Plant Variety Protection Committee Section In constituting the Committee, the Minister shall— There shall be established a Plant Variety Protection Committee constituted by the Minister . where there exists a nationally recognized association of professionals in a specific field, consult the respective association; and in any other case take into consideration professional and public interests. The Committee shall have the chairperson who shall be a person elected by the Committee from among its members. The chairperson shall hold office for three years and shall be eligible for re-election. A member of the Committee shall hold office for three years and shall be eligible for re-appointment. A member of the Committee may, in writing addressed to the Minister , resign from the Committee or may be removed from office by the Minister for a reasonable cause. The members of the Committee shall be paid such allowances, as the Minister shall determine after consultation with the Minister responsible for finance.

Section Functions of the Committee Section The functions of the Committee are to— advise the Minister on policies relating to plant varieties; approve plant varieties to be registered; recommend and review the policy of the Office ; and perform any other duties assigned to it by this Act.

Section Meetings of the Committee Section The Second Schedule to this Act shall have effect in respect of meetings of the Committee.

Section Liability of staff etc Section A Committee member, officer or other staff of the office shall not, in his or her personal capacity, be liable to civil proceedings in respect of an act or omission done in good faith in the exercise of his or her functions under this Act

Section Liability of staff for damages Section Notwithstanding section 7 , the officer or other staff may be liable to pay compensation to any person for injuries to him or her, his or her property caused either wholly or partially by the exercise of the functions of the office under this Act or any other law.

Section Establishment of a Plant Variety Protection Office Section There is established a Plant Variety Protection Office in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.

Section Rights of plant breeders Section Plant breeders’ rights, in respect of a new variety are— the exclusive right to sell, including the right to license other persons to sell and export plant varieties and reproductive material of plants of that variety; and the exclusive right to produce, including the right to license other persons to produce, reproductive material of plants of that variety for sale.

Section Dependent varieties Section For the purposes of this Act, one variety is dependent on another if— For the purposes of subsection (2), a variety shall be taken to be essentially derived from another variety, if— it is predominantly derived from— For the purposes of subsection (3), deviation may, for example, be by— the selection of— The holder of plant breeders’ rights shall have, in relation to any variety which is dependent on the protected variety , the same rights as the holder have under section 13 in relation to the protected variety. its nature is such that repeated production of the variety is not possible without repeated use of the other variety; or it is essentially derived from the other variety and the other variety is not itself essentially derived from a third variety. the initial variety; or a variety that is itself predominantly derived from the initial variety, while retaining the expression of the essential characteristics resulting from the genotype or combination of gene-types of the initial varieties, it is clearly distinguishable from the initial variety by one or more characteristics which are capable of a precise description; and except for the diffe...

Section Exemptions of the rights of breeders Section Notwithstanding that plant breeders’ rights subsist in respect of a variety, a person may— propagate, grow, and use parts of the variety for purposes other than commerce; sell plants, seed, or propagating material of plants of that variety as food or for another use that does not involve growing of the plants or the production of plants of that variety; being a farmer, exchange seed, plants, or propagating material of plants of that variety with another farmer for purposes other than commerce; use propagating material of a plant by way of allowing it to sprout and then eating it, or using it in the preparation of food, before it has developed further; use the protected variety in further breeding, research, or education for non-commercial purposes; or use the existing germplasm available with national gene banks or plant genetic resource centers for research material.

Section Application for breeders’ rights Section Subject to this Act, a breeder of a new plant variety may make an application to the Office under section 9 for plant breeders’ rights in respect of the new variety. A breeder of a new variety or his or her successor, has the right to make an application for plant breeders rights in respect of that variety, whether or not the breeder is a citizen or foreigner, or is resident or not and whether the variety was bred locally in Uganda or outside Uganda. Where two or more persons are entitled to make an application for plant breeder ’s rights in respect of a new variety, whether by reason that they bred the plant variety jointly or independently, those persons or some of those persons may make a joint application for those rights. Where two or more persons breed a new plant variety jointly, one of those breeders or a successor of one of those breeders shall not make an application for plant breeders’ rights in respect of that variety other than jointly with, or with the consent in writing of the other person, or any other person jointly entitled to make application for those rights. Applications made under this section shall be in the pr...

Section Restrictions to plant breeders’ rights Section Where the Minister considers it necessary in the public interest that the plant breeders’ rights in respect of a new variety shall be subject to conditions restricting the rights of the breeders, conditions may be imposed under the following circumstances— Where restrictions are imposed on plant breeders rights— where anti-competitive practices of the rights holder are identified; where food security or nutritional or health needs are affected or threatened; where a high proportion of the plant variety offered for sale is being imported; where the requirements of the farming community for propagating material of a particular variety are not met; or where it is considered important to promote public interest for socio-economic reasons and for developing indigenous and other technologies. the grantee shall be given a copy of the instrument setting out the conditions of the restriction including the maximum duration of the restriction; a public notice shall be given; the compensation to be awarded to the holder of the right shall be specified; and the rights holder may appeal against the compensation or restriction. Notwithstandin...

Section Rights not extended to acts requiring authorisation Section The breeder’s right shall not extend to acts concerning any material of the protected variety, or of a variety that requires authorisation of the owner, which has been sold or otherwise marketed by the breeder or with his or her consent in Uganda, or any material derived from that material, unless those acts— For the purposes of this section, "material" means, in relation to a variety— involve further propagation of the variety in question; or involve an export of material of the variety, which enables the propagation of the variety, into Uganda which does not protect varieties of the plant genus or species to which the variety belongs, except where the exported material is for final consumption purposes. propagating material of any kind; harvested material, including entire plants or parts of plants; and a product made directly from the harvested material. Where duration is not included, the breeder may notify the Minister of the end of the duration.

Section Terms of protection of plant breeders’ rights Section Subject to this Act, plant breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety shall subsist— for a period of twenty years in the case of annual crops; or for a period of twenty-five years for trees, vines and other perennials commencing on the day of filing of the application.

Section Remedies for infringement of rights Section A defendant in proceedings for an infringement of plant breeders’ rights in respect of a variety shall apply by way of counterclaim for the revocation of plant breeders’ rights on the ground that— Infringement of plant breeders’ rights shall be actionable at the instance of the holder of the rights. In any proceedings for the infringement of plant breeders’ rights, relief shall be available by way of damages, injunction, or any other relief that court may grant. the variety was not new; or facts exist which, if they had been known by the office before the grant of those rights, would have resulted in the refusal of the grant. If, in any action or proceedings for infringement of plant breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety in which a defendant has applied by way of counterclaim for the revocation of those rights on the grounds referred to in subsection 3 (a) or (b), the court is satisfied that the ground exists, the court may revoke those rights. Where, in proceedings for an infringement of plant variety rights, the court , on an application by the defendant by way of counterclaim revokes the plant breeders’ rights, the cou...

Section Naming of protected plant varieties Section If any person uses the registered name of a protected variety for sale, or marketing of a different variety within the same class, the use of the name shall be a wrong and actionable in proceedings by the holder of the rights where— The decision of whether to accept or reject the name of a plant variety shall vest in the Committee. the name is registered in respect of a variety; the name so nearly resembles the registered name as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion.

Section Filing of applications Section The registrar shall receive an application filled in respect of plant breeders’ rights on being satisfied that— the application is in the prescribed form; the prescribed application fees have been paid; and the national variety testing and evaluating requirements prescribed in the regulations made under this Act have been complied with. Where the Registrar receives an application, the Registrar shall, within six months, present the application to the Plant Variety Protection Committee. The Committee shall meet to take a decision on the application within six months. The Registrar shall inform the applicant of the decision of the committee , stating the grounds, in case of rejection.

Section New varieties Section A variety shall be taken to be new if, at the time of filing of the application for a breeders’ right, propagating, or harvested material of the variety has not been sold or disposed of to others by or with the consent of the breeder , for purposes of commercial exploitation of the variety— in Uganda earlier than one year before the filing date; and in any country other than Uganda in which the application has been filed earlier than four years, or; in the case of trees or vines, earlier than six years before that date. A variety existing at the commencement of this Act and created within the previous four years shall be taken to satisfy the condition of novelty defined in subsection (1) even where the sale or disposal to others described in that subsection took place earlier than the time limits defined in that subsection.

Section Distinct variety Section A variety shall be taken to be distinct if it is clearly distinguishable from any other variety whose existence is a matter of common knowledge at the time of filing of the application. The filing of an application for granting of a breeders’ right or for entering of another variety in an official register of varieties, in any country, shall be taken to render that other variety a matter of common knowledge from the date of the application, if the application leads to the granting of a breeder’s right or to the entering of the other variety in the official register of varieties.

Section Uniform variety Section A variety shall be taken to be uniform if it has characteristics that are consistent from plant to plant.

Section Stable variety Section A variety shall be taken to be 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 cycle.

Section Grant not limited to protection of same variety Section The grant of a breeders’ right shall not be refused or limited in duration on the ground that protection for the same variety has not been applied for or has been refused or has expired in any other country or intergovernmental organization.

Section Characteristics of plant varieties originating from outside Uganda Section For the purposes of this Act, where a plant variety in respect of which an application has been accepted has origin from outside Uganda, the variety shall not be taken to have a particular characteristic unless— statistically valid, multi-locational variety trials have been carried out in Uganda for at least— the Plant Variety Protection Committee is satisfied that— three growing seasons for annuals; or two breeding cycles for perennials have demonstrated that the variety has the specific characteristics as claimed by the applicant; statistically valid trials on the variety earned out outside Uganda have demonstrated that the variety has that specified characteristic; the natural environment outside the country under which the statistically valid trials were earned out is similar to the environment in Uganda; a test growing of the variety earned out at a place outside Uganda has demonstrated that the variety has that characteristic; the test growing of the variety carried out in the country is equivalent to that carried out outside Uganda; if a test growing of the variety in Uganda that would be suff...

Section Test growing of plant varieties Section Where, in dealing with an application in respect of a plant variety , the Committee considers it necessary that there should be a test growing, or a further test growing of the variety, test growing shall be performed by the variety testing and evaluation institution— for the purpose of determining whether the plant variety is distinct, homogenous, or stable; or for the purpose of determining whether the variety will, if grown in the country, exhibit the claimed distinctiveness, homogeneity, and stability. The applicant shall supply seeds or sufficient reproductive material of plants, of the variety, as the case may be and with any necessary information, to enable the variety to be test grown for the purpose referred to in subsection (1). After the completion of the test growing of a plant variety , any plants or reproductive material of plants used, in or resulting from the test growing, shall be surrendered to the applicant for the plant breeders’ rights in respect of that plant variety .

Section Withdrawal of application Section The applicant may withdraw an application at any time before the publication of the application. Where an application is withdrawn after publication in the Gazette , but before the grant of the plant breeders’ rights, the Office shall publish that withdrawal at the cost of the applicant.

Section Provisional protection Section Where an application for plant breeders’ rights in respect of a variety has been accepted, the applicant shall, for the purpose of protecting the breeders’ rights, be taken to be the grantee of the plant breeders’ rights in respect of that plant variety during the period commencing on the date of filing of the application and ending— at the disposal of the application; or if the Registrar has given the applicant notice at the expiration of the prescribed period, whichever occurs first. The use of new plant materials for testing shall be restricted to research purposes.

Section Objection to grant of rights Section Where official advertisement of an application for plant breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety or of the variation of an application is done, any person who considers— that the commercial or public interests would be affected by the grant of those rights to the applicant; or that the application in relation to that variety does not fulfill the prescribed criteria for grant of plant breeders rights may within six months after publication of the application, or any further time before the application is disposed of, lodge with the Office a written objection to the grant of those rights setting out particulars of the objection. Where an objection to the grant of plant breeders’ rights is lodged under subsection (1), the Office shall cause a copy of that objection to be given to the applicant for those rights. Any person may inspect an application, or an objection filed, during office hours and is entitled, upon payment of the prescribed fees, to be given a copy of the application or of the objection.

Section Grant of rights Section Subject to this section, an application for plant breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety shall be granted, if the Committee is satisfied that— there has been no objection filed; the plant variety is new, distinct, uniform, and stable; the variety has satisfied the requirements of section 16 ; those rights have not been granted to another person; and there has been no earlier application for those rights that has not been withdrawn or disposed of. If the Committee is not satisfied with the conditions in subsection (1), the Committee shall refuse to grant those rights to the applicant. The Committee shall not grant or refuse to grant plant breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety , unless a period of six months has elapsed since the publication of the application in the Gazette , and in a newspaper of wide circulation, or if the application has been varied in a manner that the Committee considers to be significant, or a period of six months has elapsed since the publication of particulars of the variation. The Committee shall not refuse to grant plant breeder ’s rights unless he or she has given the applicant for the rights a reasonable o...

Section Entry of rights into register Section When the Office grants plant breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety, the Registrar shall enter in the register — the description, or descriptions and photograph, of the plant variety ; the name of the variety; the pedigree of the variety where possible; the name and address of the breeder ; the address for the service of documents on the breeder ; the date and time on which the right was granted; description of the communities or localities in the country entitled to farmers’ rights where applicable; and other particulars relating to the grant as the Registrar considers appropriate.

Section Publication of rights Section Where the plant breeders’ rights have been granted, the Registrar shall within thirty days after granting those rights publish them in the Gazette and a newspaper of wide circulation.

Section Appeal against decision Section A person aggrieved by any decision made under this Act regarding an application for plant breeders’ rights may appeal to the Minister within sixty days of such a decision. Where an appellant under this section is not satisfied with the decision of the Minister , he or she may institute proceedings before the court in respect of the Minister ’s decision.

Section Nature of rights Section Plant breeders’ rights are personal property and are capable of assignment, transmission, or transfer. An assignment of plant breeders’ rights does not have effect unless it is in writing, signed by or on behalf of the assignor, with notice to the Registrar .

Section Assignment of rights Section Where the Office is not satisfied that plant breeders’ rights have been assigned or transmitted to a person who has informed the Office in accordance with subsection (1) that those rights have been assigned or transmitted to the claimant, the Office shall forthwith give written notice to the claimant stating that the Office is not satisfied, and Where plant breeders’ rights are assigned or transmitted to a person, that person shall, within thirty days after acquiring those rights, inform the Registrar in writing that he or she has acquired those rights, giving particulars of the manner in which, the rights were acquired. The Registrar if satisfied that the rights have been so assigned or transmitted, shall amend the register , and enter the name of that person on the register as the grantee of those rights. Where in accordance with subsection (2), the Registrar enters on the register as the grantee of plant breeders’ rights the name of a person who claims to have acquired those rights, the Registrar shall, within thirty days after entering the name on the register , give written notice to the person and to the person who was the grantee before t...

Section Supply of reproductive material Section Plant breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety are subject to the condition that the breeder shall comply with any notice given to the breeder by the Registrar under this Act. Where plant breeders’ rights are granted in respect of a plant variety , the Office may give the breeder a written notice requiring the breeder , to cause a specified quantity of propagating material of plants of that variety to be delivered, at the expense of the breeder , to a specified genetic resource center within fourteen days or any other time that may be allowed by the registrar of receiving of the notice or any further time that is allowed by the Registrar . The quantity of propagating material of plants of a variety specified in the notice under subsection (2) shall be the quantity that the Registrar considers sufficient to enable that variety to be kept in existence if there were no other propagating material of plants of that variety. Where the propagating material of plants is delivered to a genetic resources center in accordance with the condition imposed on plant breeders’ rights by subsection (1), the Registrar shall, subject to subsection...

Section Maintenance of reproductive material Section Every holder of breeders’ rights shall ensure that throughout the period for which the rights are exercisable, he or she is in a position to produce to authorized reproductive material which is capable of producing the variety to which the rights relate with the morphological and physiological and other characteristics, such as molecular identity, taken into account when the rights were granted in respect of the variety. The holder of breeders’ rights has the obligation to stock the market with propagating material at reasonable prices and he or she may do this himself or herself or may grant such licenses as are necessary to stock the market with propagating material on reasonable terms and conditions.

Section Revocation of rights Section The Committee shall revoke the breeders’ rights in respect of plant variety — The revocation of breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety in accordance with this section takes effect— if the Committee discovers that the plant variety was not new; if facts exist which, if they had been known before the grant of those rights would have resulted in the refusal of the grant; and in public interest. The Committee may revoke the breeders’ rights in respect of the plant variety if the Committee is satisfied that the breeder or the person to whom those rights have been assigned or transmitted has failed to comply with this Act. Any person whose interests are affected by the grant of breeders’ rights in respect of a plant variety may apply to the Committee for the revocation of those rights in accordance with this section. The Committee shall consider any application under subsection (8) for the revocation of breeders’ rights. The decision of the Committee not to revoke the rights shall be communicated to the applicant by written notice within fourteen days after the decision is taken, setting out the grounds of the refusal for the revocation of the...

Section Surrender of rights Section Subject to subsection (2), a breeder may at any time, upon giving notice to the Office , offer to surrender his or her rights. The Office shall, after receiving the notice of surrender, give public notice of the offer and give all interested parties an opportunity to make written submissions to the Registrar in relation to the offer, and may, if the Registrar thinks fit, accept the offer and revoke those rights. Where proceedings in respect of breeders’ rights are pending in a court , the office shall not accept an offer for the surrender or revocation of those rights, except by leave of court or by consent of the parties to the proceedings.

Section Royalty to conservation and development Section Where the variety is available with restrictions for further research and breeding, a percentage (1.1%) of the sales from the seed of the new variety shall constitute the royalty. Where a variety is available without restrictions for further research and breeding, a percentage (0.5%) of the sales from seed shall constitute the royalty. The royalty shall be paid to the Community Gene fund in accordance with the procedures outlined by the Office .

Section Placement of completed application form in public registry Section Upon completion of the application, the Office shall place or cause to be placed, the application in a public registry for thirty years, or publish or cause it to be published in the Gazette and a newspaper of wide circulation. Any person may consult the public registry and comment on the application within the period specified in subsection (1). The Office shall disseminate information to the local community concerned and other interested parties.

Section Genetic resource centers Section The Minister may from time to time declare or gazette genetic resource center, as suitable centers for storage and maintenance of germplasm material for purposes of this Act.

Section Contravention Section Any activities carried out in contravention of this Act and the regulations made under this Act shall be illegal, and any claims upon plant varieties obtained or used outside this Act shall not be recognized.

Section Dispute settlement Section Where a conflict arises concerning any matter related to this Act, unless otherwise provided for, it shall be settled administratively through the Office and finally through the courts of law.

Section Regulations Section Without prejudice to the general effect of sub-section (1), Regulations made under this Act may also subject to this Act prescribe— Without prejudice to the rights of person to proceed in court for the enforcement of the rights under this Act, the regulations may under this section prescribe— that the court convicting a person for an offence under the regulations shall order the person— The Minister may make regulations for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act. the procedure for processing applications; the forms to be used under this Act; the fees payable in respect of anything to be done under this Act; what amounts to commercial use under section 15 ; and any other matter that needs to be prescribed. that any contravention of the regulations may be punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred currency points or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both and may prescribe higher penalties for repeated contravention; to pay compensation to the community affected by the offence; that anything involved in the commission of the offence shall be forfeited to the state or destroyed; that the court shall order the cancellation of the permit f...