Legislation to protect existing plant varieties, encourage the development of new ones and safegaurd the rights of farmers and plant breeders was introduced relatively recently by way of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act, 2001. Even so, Remfry & Sagar has acquired a wealth of experience in this field by regularly assisting clients with:

• Filing and prosecuting applications for registration of plant varieties ensuring all pre-registration and post registration formalities are complied with, including assignment and licensing issues, if any;
• Filing, and defending against, opposition proceedings;
• Enforcement of rights and litigation proceedings, including the filing of infringement actions;
• Post registration maintenance including the renewal and restoration of rights;
• Matters relating to the surrender/revocation of certificates, as well as actions to rectify and correct entries on the Plant Varieties Register;
• Representation before the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, Plant Varieties Registry, and Plant Varieties Protection Appellate Tribunal.

Further, the Biological Diversity Act was enacted in 2002 to protect India’s numerous ecosystems and habitats. It also provides mechanisms for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. In this domain, our practice focuses on:

• Drafting, filing and handling applications seeking approval from the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) for access to biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, and applying for intellectual property protection;
• Providing end to end services – from obtaining prior approval from the NBA to the enforcement of patent rights – for patent applications involving biological material obtained from India.
• Managing, and attending to, pre-approval and post-approval proceedings and formalities including preparation and submission of half yearly reports on the progress of research, bio-surveys and bio-utilisation of biological resources;
• Drafting and facilitating execution of ‘Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)’ agreements and obtaining permits constituting Internationally Recognised Certificates of Compliance (IRCC).
• Representing clients before the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and Expert Committee on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS).