Seed Law welcomes revision again to solve the problem of seed homogeneity from the source
In recent years, the problem of seed homogeneity of major food crops has become prominent, and the selection and breeding of varieties still remains at the modification and improvement of the main popular varieties and core parents, resulting in a narrow genetic basis for varieties.
If this situation does not change, it will be difficult to adapt to the new situation of strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights of new plant varieties, encouraging original innovation in breeding, and ensuring food security.
——Wan Jianmin, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
◎Our reporter Ma Aiping
On August 17, the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress opened in Beijing, and the draft amendment to the Seed Law was submitted to the conference for deliberation.
"This amendment aims to expand the scope of protection of intellectual property rights of new plant varieties, extend protection links, improve protection levels, increase protection, and use system orientation to stimulate original innovation vitality." said Liu Zhenwei, deputy chairman of the National People's Congress Agriculture and Rural Committee.
Draft amendment to encourage original breeding innovation
"Seeds are the foundation of agricultural modernization. The establishment of a seed industry legal system that encourages and protects original innovation is the key to'making a good seed industry turnaround'. It is recommended to strengthen source innovation and enhance the core competitiveness of China's seed industry." Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Wan Jianmin of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences told the reporter of Science and Technology Daily that in recent years, there have been many approved varieties of major food crops in China, but there are few breakthrough varieties and the problem of homogeneity is more prominent. One of the main reasons is that there are more modified varieties, which are simply varieties. Breeding still remains at the modification and improvement of the main popularized varieties and core parents, resulting in a narrow genetic basis for varieties.
If this situation does not change, it will be difficult to adapt to the new situation of strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights of new plant varieties, encouraging original innovation in breeding, and ensuring food security.
Liu Zhenwei introduced that the focus of this amendment is to expand the scope and links of protection of new plant variety rights.
In order to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights of new plant varieties and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the owner of the variety rights, and draw lessons from international practices, the draft amendment expands the protection scope and links of the new plant variety rights, and extends the scope of protection from the propagating material of the authorized variety to the harvested material. , Extend the protection link from production, reproduction, and sales to production, reproduction, processing (seed treatment for reproduction), promised sales, sales, import, export, storage, etc.
The draft embodies the principle of one-time exhaustion of rights. The owner of the new plant variety rights has a reasonable opportunity to exercise their rights to the propagating material, and no longer exercises the right to the harvested material.
In order to encourage the original innovation of breeding and solve the serious problem of seed homogeneity from the source, the revised draft establishes a system of substantive derived varieties, clarifying that substantive derived varieties can apply for new plant variety rights and can obtain authorization, but they are for commercial purposes. When using it, the consent of the owner of the new plant variety right of the original variety shall be obtained.
Of the 77 members of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, 68 have implemented this system.
Wan Jianmin said that the protection of new plant variety rights has gone from "fringe" to the gradual establishment of a substantive derivative variety system to the legal level. Over the past 20 years, after many revisions and adjustments, the seed law is constantly improving.
The seed law plays an irreplaceable role in guiding, supporting and promoting the healthy development of my country's seed industry, making it bigger, stronger and better.
Improve tort compensation system and legal liability
In order to increase the deterrence against the infringement of new plant variety rights, the draft amendment increases the amount of punitive damages. If the amount can be determined for the loss of the right holder or the benefit obtained by the infringer or the license fee for the variety rights, the upper limit of the amount of compensation will be set. If it is difficult to determine the amount from three times to five times, the compensation limit will be increased from 3 million yuan to 5 million yuan.
In order to protect normal transactions in the seed market, the infringer’s legal source defense clause has been added. The draft amendment stipulates that if the propagating material or harvesting material of an authorized variety without the permission of the owner of the new plant variety right is not known, it can prove that the propagating material or harvesting material has If the source is legal, it shall not be liable for compensation.
"In order to strengthen the management of seed production, especially the production inspection and quarantine of fruit tree seedlings, and prevent fruit tree seedlings carrying diseases from entering the market, the amendment draft clarifies that there are no isolation and cultivation conditions for breeding seeds, and no seeds that are free of quarantine pests. Where the production site or the forest plantation designated by the forestry and grassland administrative department of the people's government at or above the county level engages in seed production, and fails to implement seed inspection and quarantine procedures to produce seeds, legal responsibility shall be pursued." Liu Zhenwei pointed out.