Types of intellectual property: Plant Breeders' Rights
- Patents
- Trade-marks
- Copyrights
- Industrial Designs
- Integrated Circuit Topographies
- Plant Breeders' Rights
The Canadian Plant Breeders' Rights Act gives you exclusive rights to new varieties of some plant species. To be protected, the varieties must be new (i.e. not previously sold), different from all other varieties, uniform (i.e. all plants in the variety must be the same), and stable (i.e. each generation must be the same as the rest).
Before you can receive the rights to your plant variety, you must submit a description of it for publication in the Plant Varieties Journal. People then have six months to object to your claim. If your claim is granted, you are entitled to control the multiplication and sale of the seeds for up to 18 years. Plant breeders' rights may also be assigned, licensed or used to negotiate funding. Note that other people are allowed to breed or save and grow the varieties for their own private use without asking your permission to do so.
Special note: In Canada, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), a special operating agency of Industry Canada, is responsible for the administration of the first five aforementioned rights (i.e. patents, trade-marks, copyrights, industrial designs, and integrated circuit topographies) while the Plant Breeders' Rights Office (PBRO), which forms part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), is responsible for the administration of the plant breeders' rights.
