Protection for BOTH finished varieties and those still in trials.
Handling and supervision of plant material before obtaining IP protection.
If the production and sale of a variety is initiated before PBR has been granted, there is a risk that the variety will not be eligible for protection. It is advisable to restrict the licensee’s distribution rights of the not-yet-protected material to third parties and use of the germplasm to the licensee’s own breeding programs. This restriction could either be part of the license agreement or part of a separate material transfer agreement.
Licensor and the licensee must agree upon who will be in charge of applying for and maintaining the PBR and national list entries.
It is also important that neither party withdraw the PBR grant or the national list entry without obtaining a written confirmation from the other about the decision. Even if the licensee wishes to stop marketing a variety, continued protection may be required for other purposes (for example, if the variety is used as a hybrid component, for marketing it through another channel or to allow for continued collection of FSS royalties).
The application and maintenance of varieties for protection or official listing has associated costs. If the licensee has exclusive rights to the varieties in the territory, the licensee usually carries the costs connected to variety protection and the national list (including trials for either purpose).