Ministry of Agriculture and State Forestry Administration, Tentative Provisions for the Application for the Rights in New Varieties of Plants in the Mainland by Applicants from Taiwan

Promulgated: November 22 2010
Effective: as of date of promulgation

Applicability: The Provisions apply to the application for the rights in new varieties of plants (Variety Rights) by natural persons and legal persons from Taiwan to the examination and approval authority of Variety Rights in the Mainland and related matters (Article 2).

Main contents: When an applicant for Variety Rights from Taiwan submits to the examination and approval authority an application for the Variety Rights and related matters, it shall appoint an agency lawfully established in the mainland to handle the application on its behalf (Article 3). Beginning from September 12 2010, where an applicant, within 12 months from its first filing of an application for Variety Rights, submits an application for the Variety Rights in the same plant variety in the mainland and requests that the date of its first filing be deemed the filing date in the mainland, it shall submit a written explanation at the time of application, and submit within three months a duplicate of the documents for its first filing recognised by the original examination and approval authority as supporting documents (Article 5). Where, with the approval of the breeder, the propagating materials of a variety of plant have been sold in the mainland for not more than one year, or, in the case of lianas, forest trees, fruit trees and ornamental trees, the propagating materials have been sold outside the mainland for not more than six years, or, in the case of other varieties of plants, the propagating materials have been sold outside the mainland for not more than four years, the variety of plant being filed shall be deemed as still possessing the characteristic of novelty (Article 6).