Plant variety rights are facing increasing pressure from legal gaps, infringement, and the rapid uptake of gene editing, according to Dr Edgar Krieger, secretary-general of CIOPORA, the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Horticultural Plants. During visits with plant breeders in New Zealand, Krieger said protection of plant variety rights is increasingly important for fruit sectors that depend on licensed genetics, including kiwifruit.
"When you travel around orchards as I have done and you see how whole communities benefit from fruit varieties, it goes well beyond the breeders themselves, and NZ's kiwifruit sector is an excellent example of this," he said.
CIOPORA, based in Hamburg, represents around 150 member companies globally with a staff of six. Its work focuses on plant variety rights protection for asexually reproduced crops, mainly fruit and ornamentals. "As an organisation, we deal only with plants produced asexually, essentially fruits and ornamentals," Krieger said.
China and India are key markets on CIOPORA's radar due to their evolving approaches to plant variety rights. China has strengthened breeder protection through revisions to its Seed Law, under which companies, including T&G and Zespri, have secured court rulings against illegal propagation of protected varieties. In Zespri's case, this involved the G3 Gold kiwifruit, while T&G received a ruling covering its Scilate apple.
"This is the case at least on paper. But it does come down to enforcement and respecting those rights," Krieger said. He noted that recent decisions by district courts, upheld at the Supreme Court level, show increased consistency, although application of the law varies by region.
India presents a different environment, where legislation tends to prioritise farmers' rights. Krieger said this limits access to newer genetics and contributes to concentrated harvest periods due to fewer varieties with staggered ripening. A case involving PepsiCo's FC5 potato variety highlighted the balance between breeder protection and farmers' traditional seed-saving practices, despite a Delhi High Court ruling in the company's favour in early 2024.
Krieger also pointed to gaps in provisional protection during the period between filing for plant variety rights and final approval. "That period can vary between one and a half years and 10 years. You cannot stop others from propagating the crop in the meantime."
As gene editing becomes more common, Krieger said global rules need to address essentially derived varieties. "You should not be able to produce that edited variety without some recognition and agreement with the breeder of the original variety. It is their work and investment at stake."
Source: FarmersWeekly
