China has issued new regulations for plant variety protection which will take effect on October 1, 1997. Protection will be for 20 years from the date of issue in the case of vines, forest trees, fruit trees and ornamental trees and 15 years for all other plants.
To qualify for protection the variety must be novel to the extent that before the filing of the application, the variety must not have been sold with the consent of the breeder in China for a period of more than one year or elsewhere in the world for a period of six years in the case of vines, forest trees, fruit trees and ornamental trees or for more than four years in the case of other plants.
An application for protection requires submission of a description, a photograph and where priority is claimed a certified copy of the priority document. The authorities have the power to require the submission of propagating material from the new plant variety.
The government has issued and implemented seven lists of protected new varieties of agricultural plants and four lists of protected new varieties of forest plants, which cover 140 genera and species, including 74 agricultural plants and 78 forest plants. The numbers are far higher than the minimum numbers required by the "International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants."
By the end of 2007, MOA had handled 4, 695 applications for plant variety rights. The number of applications handled in 1999 was 115, and by 2007 it reached 816. Among all the applications, there were 4,244 for field crops, 187 for vegetables, 120 for fruit trees and 144 for decorative plants. It included 184 from foreign enterprises and individuals. After examination, 1,417 applications were granted the variety rights.
Relevant Acts: Plant Breeders' Rights Act
Forest Part described in detail in http://www.cnpvp.net/
Agricultural Part described in detail in http://www.cnpvp.cn/
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