Federal Senate approves Bill Extending Plant Variety Protection Term, but Chamber of Deputies Approval is Still Required

The Federal Senate has approved a bill (PLS nº 404/2018) that extends the protection period for new plant varieties (cultivars).

According to the approved proposal, the protection of cultivars will be extended to 20 years, with the exception of grapevines, fruit and forest trees, ornamental trees and plants (including their rootstocks, if any), and sugarcane cultivars, for which the term will be longer, at 25 years.

The objective of this increase in the protection term is to encourage research and development of new and improved plant varieties, aligning Brazilian legislation with the 1991 Act of UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants).

Additionally, the text of the bill prohibits small producers and family farmers from saving, planting, multiplying, selling, exchanging, or distributing seeds and seedlings of protected cultivars of flowers and ornamental plants.

Now, the bill will be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies for analysis and voting, unless an appeal is filed for a new evaluation in the Senate.

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