Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (2001)
'Multiple rights system designed to distribute benefits equitably'
Four types of varieties to be protected:
- New variety
- must conform to the criteria of novelty, distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (NDUS)
- Extant variety
- broad category covering varieties available in India
- Essentially derived variety
- variety that can be distinguished from the initial variety but retains its essential characteristics
- many transgenic crops fall under this category***
- BNbt cotton, non-hybrid, public, enables farmer saved seed
- Farmers’ variety
- varieties for which there is common knowledge or that are in the public domain
- Complete ban on Gene Use Restricting Technology (GURT)...aka 'terminator' technology
- Protection to farmers for innocent infringement