Japan revises law to protect new crop varieties, curb leaks overseas

TOKYO, July 17 (Kyodo/APP): The Japanese parliament adopted revised legislation Friday to better protect the brand value and intellectual property rights of domestically developed premium crop varieties, following a series of unauthorized outflow of seedlings overseas.

According to the revised Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act, developers can request an injunction to block the unauthorized export of new crop varieties even before the completion of the official registration process with the farm ministry.

The amendment extended plant breeders’ rights by 10 years, granting breeders exclusive control over the production and sale of new varieties for woody plants, such as fruit trees, for a total of 40 years, and for other plants, for a total of 35 years, to further protect brand value.

Breeders’ rights to new varieties are granted upon registration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But there have been cases in which premium crops were leaked overseas during the application process, which typically takes three to six years. The revision enables developers to prevent unauthorized exports during that period as well.

Last year, a survey conducted by the farm ministry found that about 50 varieties of Japanese farm products, including the highly prized citrus fruit Beni Princess, were suspected of being leaked and sold as seedlings online without permission in China and South Korea.

Along with the revised legislation announced on Friday, the government plans to establish a new organization by August to manage plant variety rights.

The new body, comprising experts familiar with intellectual property and crops, will monitor unauthorized cultivation in Japan and overseas on behalf of variety developers and pursue lawsuits abroad if rights are infringed upon.