Plant breeders' rights (PBR) are a form of intellectual property rights that allow plant breeders to protect new varieties of plants. Other forms of intellectual property protection include patents, trademarks and copyrights.
When a plant breeder's right is granted, the breeder gets exclusive rights to produce (for sale) and to sell reproductive material of the new plant variety.
Plant breeding has existed for thousands of years. It is the science of working with the genetics of plants to produce new plants with desired characteristics. Today's breeders can be gardeners, farmers, or professionals who work for government research centres, universities, private companies or industry associations.
The techniques of plant breeding range from simply selecting certain plants for reproduction, to deliberate crossing of individual plants to develop new varieties with a combination of desired traits. Modern technology has expanded the scope of plant breeding to also include complex molecular techniques.
A plant breeder who obtains plant breeders' rights usually collects royalties each time reproductive material of the protected plant variety is sold, similar to the way an author collects royalties on a copyrighted book.
A PBR is legally enforceable and gives you, the owner, exclusive rights to commercially use it, sell it, direct the production, sale and distribution of it, and receive royalties from the sale of plants.
If you have developed a new plant variety, you should consider applying for a PBR to protect it.
Before you apply, you'll need to decide if registering a plant breeder's right is appropriate for your plant, where you want to register it and what is involved in the application process.
Do some basic research to make sure your variety is new and distinctive and that you will be eligible. Search the PBR database to see if someone else has already bred your variety.