美國의 植物新品種 保護制度 및 運營

Plant variety protection system and operation in USA

Many countries are developing a legal framework of protecting plant varieties as an intellectual property right. The Uruguay Round of GATT gave an important impetus to this development. The establishment of such a legal system requires sound procedures and profound knowledge of variety registration. The Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) in USA, enacted on December, 1970, and amended in 1994, provides legal protection, similar to patents, to the developers of new varieties of plant which are sexually reproduced by seeds or propagated by tubers. Bacteria and fungi are excluded. The PVPA is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. A certificate of protection is awarded to an owner of a variety in an official examination has shown that it is new, distinct from other varieties, and genetically uniform and stable through successive generations. The term of protection is 20 years for most crops and 25 year for trees, shrubs, and vines. The owner of a U.S protected variety has exclusive rights to multiply and market the seeds of that variety.