IPR and Agriculture

D.K. Garg
Addl. Director Research (P,M&E)
Directorate of Research, RAU, Bikaner
 Patent
Legal monopoly granted for limited time by a country
to owner of invention to exclude others from imitating,
manufacturing, using or selling the invention for
commercial use during specified period
Granted for product, process or improvement in an
invention
Contract between society and inventor
Rights can be inherited/sold/licensed like any other
property
Central Government subject
Territorial : Nothing like global patent
 Criteria
• Novelty : Not published before
• Inventiveness (Non-obviousness)
• Usefulness for society/nation
 Inventions Not Patentable in India
 Contrary to well established natural laws
 Invention contrary to law or morality or injurious to public
health
 Mere discovery of scientific principle
 Mere discovery of any new property or new use unless
employs atleast one new reactant
 Mere admixture
 Mere arrangement or rearrangement
 A method of agriculture or horticulture
 Any process for treatment of animals or plants
 Inventions related to atomic energy
 Published or disclosed invention anywhere
 When to file application
Earliest possible date, not delayed until
fully developed for commercial working
File with Provisional Specification
disclosing nature
 Term of Patent
• 5 years from date of sealing
or
7 years from date of patent
for invention related to method or process
of manufacturing a substance to be used as
drug, medicine or food
• 14 years from date of patent for rest
 Patent Information System (India)
• 3rd, ‘C’ block, CGO complex, Seminary Hills, Naghur was established in
1980 in order to retrieve and disseminate information contained in patent
documents
• National Informatics Centre
International Property and Knowhow Informatics Div.
A Block, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
• Patent Facilitatiry Centre
Technical Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)
Technical Bhawan, New Mahrauli Road, New Delhi
In Rajasthan PFC set up is
Patent Information Centre
Department of Science and Technology
506, Mini Secretariat, Bani Park,
Jaipur www.rajdst.org.
• Intellectual Property Management Division,
CSIR, Special Institutional Area, New Delhi
• INSDOC, New Delhi
• NISSSAT, New Delhi
• National Research Development Cooperation, New
Delhi
• Patent Information Cells in various Govt.
Departments
(i) IPR Cell, Ministry of I.T., New Delhi
(ii)) IPR Cell, ICAR,
204B, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-110001
(iii) Intellectual Property Management Division
CSIR, New Delhi
(iv) Patent Cell, DAE, BARC, Mumbai
(v) Patent facilitating Cell
DBT, New Delhi
 Sites for Patent Search
• http://pk2id.delhi.nic.in
• http://www.delphion.com
• http://uspto.gov
• http://www.ipic.moc.go.th/search5.html
Patent Agent in Rajasthan
Mr. K.B. Marwaha
6/322, Raja Park
Jaipur-302004
 IPR in Agriculture
• Crop varieties, animal & poultry breeds and
fish strains
• Packages of improved crop and animal
husbandry practices
• Natural Resource Management technologies
• Improved tools, equipment and farm machinery
• Improved dairy, poultry and fisheries
technologies
• Computer software and data sets
• PHT
 Protecting New Plant Variety
• IP of breeder
• Protection by patents in US or PBRs in US,
Japan, Australia, Israel, European Union etc.
 UPOV
• Union Pour la Protection des obtentiosw vegetabls
(Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants)
• First conference in Paris in 1961 to form uniform laws
for member countries
• Act enacted in 1978 and modified in 1991
• Protection for 20 years but protected variety may be
used as genetic material without approval of breeder
• 66 members but not India
• Even transgenic modification of an existing variety also
protected under “Essentially Derived Variety” but
authorization is required
• Breeder’s exemption but withdrawn in UPOV Act 1991
for EDV through mutation, back cross and gene
transfer
• Farmers’ privilege
 Criteria for UPOV
• Distinctness
• Uniformity
• Stability i.e. Relevant characters remain
unchanged after repeated propagation
• Novelty
• Appropriate denomination enables varietal
identification
 GATT Agreement and
Indian Seed Law
• India ratified GATT in June, 1994 which
includes Trade Related IPR (TRIPs)
• Now replaced to WTO since Jan. 1995
• Provides protection to IP including seeds
of new crop varieties through endogenous
system (Sui genesis)
• Need arised because seeds (control) order
1983 was inadequate to guard IPR for
seeds
 PBRs
• Right granted by Govt. to plant breeder or
organization to produce, sell, market, distribute,
import or export of variety and exclude others from
producing or commercializing variety for a minimum
of 15-20 years
• First granted in US in 1930 for asexually propagated
crops
• Variety : Novel, Distinct, Uniform and Stable
• Breeding procedure : Not protectable
• Person holding PBR title can authorize others to
produce with certain conditions otherwise govt. can
grant license in public interest
• Extant variety _ Breeder/Successor/Central Govt./
State Govt. shall be owner and DUS test not required
 Advantages
• Encouragement for breeders
• Investment by private companies
• Competition

Disadvantages
• Monopoly of financially powered countries
and cos.
• Fall in agricultural production
• Prices may go up
 IPR in India
• Developed sui generis system to meet provisions of WTO and TRIPs
• Gene rich are technology poor and vice-versa
• Patent Act, 2002 promulgated in which 20 yrs time limit fixed and both
product and process are petentable
• Gene patent system in place in India
• Enacted PVP and FR Act, 2001 and regulations for implementing the Act
formulated in 2003
• More germplasm lines not protectable
• For Registration even AVT I and II strains may be given
• Registration is optional
• Started from May 20, 2007 registration of plant varieties covering 12 plant
species (cereals, pulses, fodder and vegetable)
• Annual fee and renewal fee to be paid
• PVP and FR Authority in Nov., 2005
• Act covers all plants except microbes
• Exchange of germplasm : Terms and criteria for protection : 18 years for
trees & vines and 15 yrs for other crops
• Researchers’ and Farmers’ rights
• Compulsory deposit at National Gene Bank
 Crops in PVP & FR
Wheat* Rice Maize
Pearlmillet* Sorghum Greengram*
Blackgram Chickpea* Lentil
Pigeonpea Field Pea Kidney Bean
Cotton* Jute
Spices: Cardamom, Ginger, Turmeric,
Pepper
 RAU varieties offered for registration
under PVP &FR
• Wheat (5): Raj 4083, Raj 4037, Raj 3777, Raj 3077 and
Raj 3765 as extant varieties.
• Pearlmillet (6): RHB 121, RHB 90, RHB 30, RHB 58,
Raj 171 and RHB 127 as extant varieties.
• Chickpea (14 & 3): GNG 1292, GNG 469, GNG 663,
RSG 888, CSJD 884, RSG 931, RSG 973, RSG 807, RSG
895, RSG 896, RSG 902, RSG 945, RSG 963 and RSG
991 as extant varieties.
• GNG 1581¸GNG 1488 and GNG 1499 as new varieties.
• Mungbean (6): Ganga 1, Ganga 8, RMG 62, RMG 268,
RMG 344 and RMG 492 as extant varieties
• Rajmash (1): RSJ 172 as extant variety.
• Cotton (6): Raj HH16, RS875, RS 810, RS 2013, RG 18
and Raj DH 9 as extant varieties.
 Registration fees
(in Rs.)
• Application form : 200
• Extant variety : 2000
• DUS test : 20000 –35000
• DUS test visit charges/person/visit : 500
• Registration Certificate Charges : 5000
• Annual Fees : To be notified
• Renewal Fees : To be notified
 Future Strategy
• More and more use of indigenous genetic material
• Research efforts on biofertilizers
• Biological methods on plant protection be encouraged
• Stress on research on medicinal, aromatic and fruit plants
and their PHT, processing etc.
• Research on management to make products economically
efficient
• Research stress on indigenous non-conventional things
• More systematic exploration and collection, conservation,
evaluation, documentation, utilization and protection of
invaluable sovereign genetic resources and also research
on value addition e.g. dev of new varieties
• Formulation of IPR guidelines in RAU