Plant Varieties Act 1983 (Chapter 17)

Plant Varieties Act 1983 CHAPTER 17 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Period for which plant breeders' rights are exercisable. 2. Plant breeders' rights in special cases. 3. Compulsory licences. 4. Other amendments of the 1964 Act. 5. Application of Act outside Great Britain. 6. Short title, repeals and commencement. SCHEDULESI Schedule I-Amendments of the 1964 Act. Schedule 2-Repeals. ELIZABETII II c. 17 Plant Varieties Act 1983 1983 CHAPTER 17 An Act to amend the Plant Varieties and Seeds Act 1964. [9th May 1983] B E IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1.-(1) In section 3 (period for which rights are exercisable) Period for of the Plant Varieties and Seeds Act 1964 (in this Act referred which plant to as" the 1964 Act") there shall be substituted- b reeders' rights are (a) in subsection (1) for the words " 25 years " the words exercisable. " 30 years .. ; 1964 c. 14. (b) in subsection (2) for the words " 18 years" the words " 25 years " ; and (c) in subsection (3) for the words " IS years " ~ words " 20 years ". (2) In subsection (2) of tibat section for the words " fruit trees and their root-stocks, forest and ornamental trees and grape vines " there shall be substituted the words " fruit, forest and ornamental trees and their root-stocks and grapevines and their root-stocks ". (3) Subsections (S) and (8) of that section and, in subsection (9) of that section, the words" or subsection (8)" shall cease to have effect. 1 2 c.17 Plant Varieties Act 1983 (4) Every scheme made under Part I of the 1964 Act before the commencement of this Act shall be amended as follows (a) for any period of 25 years prescribed by the scheme there shall be substituted a period of 30 years ; (b) for any period of 20 years so prescribed there shall be substituted a period of 25 years ; and (c) for any period of 15 or 18 years so prescribed there shall be substituted a period of 20 years ; and the period for which any plant breeders' rights subsisting at the commencement of this Act are exercisable shall be ex tended by so much (if any) as may be necessary to bring it into conformity with the relevant scheme as so amended. (5) Nothing in this Act shall affect the operation of subsections (5), (8) and (9) of section 3 of the 1964 Act in relation to appli cations made, or extensions granted on applications made, before the commencement of this Act. Plant breeders' 2. For sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph 1 of Schedule rights in 3 to the 1964 Act (sale of cut blooms, fruit etc.) there shall be special cases. substituted the following sub-paragraph " 1.-0) If it appears to the Ministers that, in the case of any species or group of plant varieties, plant breeders will not receive adequate remuneration unless there is made such provision as is authorised by this paragraph, and that such provision will be of substantial benefit to plant breeders, they may by a scheme under Part I of this Act provide that, as respects any plant variety of the species or group prescribed by the scheme, plant breeders' rights shall include the exclusive right to do, and to authorise others to do, as follows (a) to produce or propagate the variety in Great Britain for the purpose of selling such parts or products of the variety as may be prescribed by the scheme; and (b) to sell or offer or expose for sale in Great Britain, so far as they are obtained from plants produced or propagated outside Great Britain, such parts or products of the variety as may be so prescribed." Compulsory 3.-(1) In subsection (3) of section 7 of the 1964 Act (com licences. pulsory licences) for the words from .. endeavour to secure " on wards there shall be substituted the words "have regard to the desirability of securing (a) that the plant variety is available to the public at reasonable prices, is widely distributed and is main tained in quality ; Plant Varieties Act 1983 c. 17 (b) that there is reasonable remuneration for the holder of the plant breeders' rights ; and (c) where there is a market for the export of the plant variety. that the market is supplied from the production of the variety in Great Britain." (2) In subsection (5) of that section for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following paragraph " (a) the holder of the plant breeders' rights to which an application under subsection ( 1) of this section relates (i) is or includes. or is represented by. a society or other organisation which has as its main object. or one of its main objects, the negotiation or grant ing of licences to exercise plant breeders' rights. either as the holder of the rights or as agent for holders. or (ii) is or includes a company any shares of which are held by or on behalf of the Ministers. and ". 4. The 1964 Act shall have effect subject to the further amend- Other ments set out in Schedule 1 to this Act. being miscellaneous amendments minor amendments. f~~e 1964 5.-(1) Section 39 of the 1964 Act (extension of that Act to Application Northern Ireland) shall have effect as if the provisions of this of A~ Act were provisions of the relevant Part of that Act and, with o~:~f ;ritain the exception of subsection (2) below, had been extended to · Northern Ireland by Order in Council under subsection (2) of that section. (2) Section 40 of the 1964 Act (extension of that Act to the Isle of Man and Channel Islands) shall have effect as if the provisions of this Act were provisions of that Act. 6.-(1) This Act may be cited as the Plant Varieties Act 1983. Short title, • . repeals and (2) Tho enactments mentioned m Schedule 2 to this Act are commence hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of ment. that Schedule. (3) This Act shall come into force at the expiry of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is passed. 3 c. 17 Plant Varieties Act 1983 SCHEDULES SCHEDULE 1 .AMENDMENTS OF 1llB 1964 Acr 1.-{l) In subsection (1) of section 4 of the 1964 Act (the nature of plant breeders' rights) after the word "sell" there shall be inserted the words " or offer or expose for sale ". (2) In subsection (2) of that section after the word " sale " there shall be inserted the words " or offer or exposure for sale " and after the word " sold ", in the first place where it occurs, there shall be inserted the words " or offered or exposed for aale ''. (3) In subsection (5) of that section after the word ••sell" there shall be inserted the words " or offer or expose for sale ". 2.-(1) In subsection (1) of section SA of the 1964 Act (require ment to use registered names on sale of reproductive material) after the word "offering" there shall be inserted the words" or exposing". (2) In subsection ( 4) of that section the words " in connection with the registered name of a plant variety " shall be omitted and for the words from " other than " onwards there shall be substituted the words" if (a) that mark or name and the registered name are juxtaposed ; and (b) the registered name is easily recognisable." (3) In subsection (5) of that section the words " or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both " shall cease to have effect. 3. In subsections (1) and (2) of section 13 of the 1964 Act (false representations as to rights and false information) the words " or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months. or to both " shall cease to have effect. 4.-(1) In subsection (1) of section 15 of the 1964 Act (interpre tation of Part I). in paragraph (d) for the words " ornamental plants and parts of ornamental plants when " there shall be substituted the words " plants or parts of plants of any ornamental variety when plants or parts of plants of that variety are". (2) After that subsection there shall be inserted the following sub section " (1 A) References in this Part of this Act to offering or exposing for sale plants or material of any description include references to publishing, or causing to be published, any ad vertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser has plants or material of that description in his possession for the purpose of sale.'' 5. In subsection (1) of section 38 of the 1964 Act (interpretation) in the definition of " plant variety " for the word "means " there shall be substituted the word "includes". Plant Varieties Act 1983 c.17 6. In subsection (3)(b) of section 39 of the 1964 Act (extenaion of Act to Northern Ireland) the word " and " immediately following head (iv) shall cease to have effect and after head (v) there sha.11 be inserted the words " and (vi) in paragraph 9(3) of Schedule 4, after the words 'this Act' there were inserted the words • or the Seeds Act (Northern Ireland) 1965 ' " 7. In paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 1 to the 1964 Act (protection of applicant for rights while application is pending) after the word " offer " there shall be inserted the words " or exposure " and the words from " or the exposure " onwards shall cease to have effect. 8.-(1) In paragraph 1(1) of Part I of Schedule 2 to the 1964 Act (priorities between applicants for rights) after the words "those persons" there shall be inserted the words "(and any successon in title of theirs) " and for the words from " in the form " to " section 9 of " there shall be substituted the word " under ". (2) In sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph (2) of that Part of that Schedule for the words from "in the form " to " being a form " there shall be substituted the words "being an application". 9.---(1) In paragraph 1(1) of Part II of Schedule 2 to the 1964 Act (rules for grant of rights) for the words "morphological, physio logical or other characteristics" there shall be substituted the worda "characteristics which are capable of precise description". (2) In sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph 2 of that Part of that Schedule after the word "offered" there shall be inserted the words "or exposed". (3) For the proviso to sub-paragraph (2) of that paragraph there shall be substituted the following proviso •• Provided that the restriction imposed by this sub-paragraph shall not apply to sales or offers or exposures for sale made outside the United Kingdom (a) in the case of fruit, forest and ornamental trees and their root-stocks and grapevines and their root-stocks, during the period of six years ending with the date of the application ; (b) in any other case, during the period of four years ending with that date." (4) In sub-paragraphs (4)(a) and (5) of that paragraph after the word" offer" there shall be inserted the worda "or exposure". 5 ScH.1 6 Section 6. c. 17 Plant Varieties Act 1983 SCHEDULE2 REPEALS Chapter Short title Extent of repeal 1964 c. 14. The Plant Varieties and In section 3, subsections (5) Seeds Act 1964. and (8) and, in subsection (9), the words " or subsection (8) ". In section SA, in subsection (4) the words " in connection with the registered name of a plant variety " and in sub section (5) the words " or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both". In section 13, in subsections (1) and (2) the words " or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both". In section 39, in subsection (3)(b) the word" and" imme diately following head (iv). In Schedule 1, in paragraph 1(3) the words from "or the exposure " onwards. The above repeals have effect 1ubject to section 1(5) above. PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY W. J. SHARP Controller and Chief Executive of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and Queen's Printer of Act. of Parliament LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE £1·30 net ISBN O 10 541783 1