Intellectual property laws, including those relating to PGRFA, typically define the item, product or process for which protection may be sought, requirements or conditions for granting protection as well as scope and duration of the right. They may also establish rights or conditions for users of the protected item or product, for example conditions under which farmers may save, use, exchange and/or sell seed of protected varieties.

Contracting Parties may consider reviewing and, as appropriate, adjusting intellectual property laws and related procedures, for example by including provisions to safeguard rights that farmers have to save, use, exchange and/or sell farm-saved seed.

They may also include requirements in intellectual property laws and related procedures for disclosure of origin to enable fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of PGRFA; or by adjusting the scope of protection, thereby defining conditions under which farmers may save, use, exchange and/or sell seed of protected varieties, subject to national law and as appropriate.

Example(s) of possible measures:

  • Balancing Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and Farmers' Rights (Norway/Europe). Click here
  • Safeguarding Farmers’ Rights in Swiss intellectual property law (Switzerland/Europe). Click here
  • Require applicant for plant variety protection to disclose the source of genetic material used in the development of a plant variety for which protection is sought, whether it is legally acquired (Egypt/Near East, India, Malaysia, Thailand/Asia). Click here
  • Implementing sui generis plant variety protection systems that recognize farmers’ seed systems, farmers’ varieties and advances Farmers’ Rights (India, Malaysia/Asia). Click here