Federal Law No.8 of 2025 regarding the Protection of New Plant Varieties.

This Law, consisting of 37 articles, aims to regulate the grant and protection of Plant Breeders’ Rights and applies to all plant genera and species in the State. Article 4 establishes the Register of the Protection of New Plant Varieties at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, in which new plant Varieties and Plant Breeders’ Rights shall be recorded. A Registrar shall supervise the Register and exercise competences including coordinating with relevant international, regional, and local entities, performing any tasks stipulated by this Law, and carrying out additional duties assigned by the Minister in connection with the Law’s objectives. Under Article 6, the Plant Breeder’s Right shall be granted for a Variety that is new, distinct, uniform, and stable, without imposing any additional or conflicting conditions, provided the Variety’s denomination complies with Article 19 (Denomination of the Variety), the Plant Breeder meets all requirements of this Law, and the prescribed fees are paid. Article 7 defines when a Variety is considered new (novelty), Article 8 defines when a Variety is considered distinct, Article 9 defines when a Variety is considered uniform, and Article 10 defines when a Variety is considered stable. The Plant Breeder’s authorization is required for any of the following acts involving the Propagating Material of a Protected Variety: production or reproduction (multiplication), conditioning for propagation, offering for sale, sale or other marketing, export, import, and stocking for any of these purposes. The Plant Breeder’s authorization is also required for using harvested material or products derived from a Protected Variety obtained without permission, unless the breeder had a reasonable opportunity to exercise their rights, and these provisions apply to essentially derived Varieties, varieties not clearly distinguishable from the Protected Variety, or varieties produced through repeated use of it; a Variety is essentially derived if it predominantly comes from the initial Variety, retains its basic characteristics, is distinguishable, and differs only by derivation, e.g., via mutation, cloning, selection, backcrossing, or genetic engineering. Article 16 deals with the exceptions to the Plant Breeder’s Rights. A Plant Breeder’s Right is granted for 20 years, or 25 years for vines and trees, commencing from the date of grant. Article 19 establishes that a Variety must have a clear, non-misleading denomination filed with the Registrar, used in marketing, compatible with trademarks, and consistently registered with all the members of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), avoiding confusion with other Varieties or prior rights.