Consider the right to a selection achievement, especially its protectability. Such achievements are special objects of intellectual property. They are protected by the law of the Russian Federation of 1993, as well as a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding such achievements.
Grade Features
By breeding achievement is meant an animal breed, a plant variety. A variety is a group of plants, which, regardless of protection, is identified by signs that determine the combination of genotypes or the genotype itself.
The right to a selection achievement is possible if the plants differ from other groups of the same botanical taxon in features.
The line, clone, population, hybrid of the first generation acts as protected categories of the variety.
Breed features
By it is meant a group of animals, possessing, regardless of the ability to protect, some morphological and biological properties specific to this group. It is precisely by these characteristics that this breed is distinguished from other similar groups of animals.
It can be represented by both male and female individuals or tribal material.
Intellectual rights to breeding achievements are similar to the protection of industrial designs. For example, in the United States in the 20th century, a law was passed regarding a patent for plants that propagate vegetatively.
Criteria for legal protection
Exclusive rights to breeding achievements shall be certified by a state organization having the right to carry out such activities.
What requirements must plants or animals meet in order to rely on legal protection? We single out those parameters that give the exclusive right to a selection achievement.
Novelty
Breed, variety are considered new if at the time of filing the patent application the breeding material or seeds of a specific selection achievement were not put up for sale and were not distributed in other ways by the breeder, legal successor (with his consent) for the application of the selection achievement:
- in the framework of the Russian Federation - a year before such a date;
- in the territory of another state - for four years, and for fruit, ornamental crops, grapes - six years before the application registration deadline.
Individuality
An exclusive right to a selection achievement arises only if it has significant differences from another similar well-known selection achievement that exists at the filing date of the application. A selection achievement, which is in the official catalogs, has a clear description in one of the publications.
Homogeneity and stability
An exclusive right to a selection achievement is established if the animal breeds and plant varieties are uniform in characteristics. Otherwise, it is impossible to count on the legal protection of the selection achievement.
What are the main objects of the right to breeding achievements? For example, plants that can act as plants in which, after several cycles of reproduction, individual traits are preserved.
The subjects of individual rights to animal breeds or selection achievements are considered authors, originators, patent holders (applicants).
What are the rights of authors
An individual who has created an innovative achievement is a breeder.
Individual rights of patent holders of selection achievements are regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
The author has the right to transfer his powers, and in the future, another person may be recognized as the patent holder.
The right to a selection achievement is guaranteed to the originator by the state in the event that the results of his work are officially registered in the State Register of Selection Achievements. The originator of a variety of any agricultural plant, according to the law of the Russian Federation, is recognized as a legal entity or individual who created, bred, revealed a plant.
Foreign citizens and persons without Russian citizenship have the opportunity to buy the rights to breeding achievements in the Russian Federation in accordance with an international agreement or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity. This is also possible in cases where, according to the decision of the State Commission of the Russian Federation, a certain selection achievement is of interest for large-scale economic activity.
When individual rights arise
The exclusive rights of the authors of selection achievements appear only if they are registered with the State Commission of the Russian Federation for the Protection and Testing of Selection Plants. In order to count on a successful result, it is necessary that the application fully complies with the requirements established in the Russian Federation. The following points should be in the application:
- application for the grant of a state patent;
- questionnaire of selection achievement;
- a document confirming the fact of payment of state duty;
- for the applicant-employer, an agreement with the employee who is the author of the selection achievement acts as an additional document attached to the application.
According to the submitted application, the department employees carry out an examination within a month. Upon its successful completion, a substantive achievement check is carried out. Within its framework, the presence of protected features is checked. Based on the results of such an examination, the applicant becomes the happy owner of the patent, and the author of the selection achievement, who is not the patent holder, is awarded the copyright certificate certifying the right to remuneration from the patent holder for the use of the selection achievement.
About expiration dates
The objects of intellectual rights to breeding achievements are protected by the state for a certain period. For 30 years from the date of registration, a registered protection achievement is subject to legal protection.
The validity period of the exclusive right to a selection achievement is calculated from the moment of its registration in the State Register of Protected New Selection Achievements. For forest species, fruit crops, decorative woody shrubs, various grape varieties, the patent has a validity period of 35 years.
Specificity of Exclusive Rights
Throughout the duration of the right to a selection achievement, the patent holder has the opportunity to prohibit other persons from any actions that are related to the application of the selection achievement. For example, from the owner of a patent, a person can be granted a license for certain actions with breeding material, with seeds:
- creation and reproduction;
- preparation for sale;
- bringing to sowing volumes and reproduction;
- export from the country;
- import to the Russian Federation
Important aspects
It is necessary to obtain the permission of the patent holder for a breeding protected achievement for carrying out the actions indicated above, with breeding material, seeds of the variety, which:
- inherit the parameters of the original (protected) varieties, breeds, if they themselves are not considered in the form of selection achievements;
- retain the most significant signs of a breeding initial achievement related to the genotype or combination of genotypes;
- need the repeated use of a protected variety to obtain material seeds.
Limitations of rights
There are some restrictions on exclusive rights to a selection achievement. That is why some actions on the application of selection achievements can be carried out without the additional consent of the copyright holder. For example, the following actions are not considered a violation of exclusive rights:
- committed for non-commercial and personal purposes;
- produced for experimental purposes;
- involving the use of plant material obtained at the enterprise for two years in the form of seeds (for example, flax flax, buckwheat, sowing peas);
- reproduction of livestock for their use in this enterprise
Among the obligations of the patent holder, we note the maintenance of the purity of the breed and variety throughout the term of the patent.
At the request of the State Commission, the patent holder sends the breeding material or varietal seeds to carry out the breeding material for the control tests, as well as create conditions for inspectors to conduct such tests at the enterprise.
How to protect the rights to a selection achievement?
The Law on Breeding Achievements sets out in detail the rights of the authors of such achievements. The law establishes the size and procedure for the payment of material compensation to those persons to whom the rights are transferred under the contract. For example, the conditions and the amount of material compensation established by the agreement concluded between the author and the patent holder are legislatively approved.
A remuneration is paid to the author for six months after the end of each calendar year in which a particular selection achievement was applied.
In case of untimely payment, the patent holder is obliged to pay the author a penalty for each day of delay in the amount specified in the contract.
Breeding is the evolution of animals and plants, which is guided by the will of man, is a kind of innovation in the field of reproduction of the living world. As part of the knowledge of matter, a person acquires excellent opportunities for exerting a specific action on the formation of plants and animals in the required direction.
The creative process that the breeder deals with is somewhat similar to the work of the inventor.
The breeder intervenes in the situation, changes it in the required direction, in order to fully achieve the goal. Breeders deal only with natural systems, which significantly distinguishes them from inventors.
The specificity of the object of study affects the methods of performing work on the formation of new animal breeds and plant varieties, as well as forms of public recognition of their results.
In our country, selection achievements are considered as special objects of intellectual property. Their legal regime in the Russian Federation is similar to the patent protection of industrial developments and experimental designs.
In order for the creator of a new breeding variety of potato, corn, tomato, to be able to count on the protection of its development, it is necessary to go through the procedure of official registration of a breeding invention in the government department (Rospatent).
Nowadays, new and new varieties of plants, unusual breeds of animals appear, so it is important to draw up exclusive rights in a timely manner.
As a result of the work of the breeder is the achievement of some practical task, which consists in breeding a new breed of animals or plant varieties with the qualities that humanity needs.
Finally
Our world is diverse and amazing, it allows you to clone, display new lines, create hybrids, and form populations. The success of the work of modern breeders directly depends on providing the population of the city, country, and our planet with high-quality raw materials and food, raw materials for industrial production.Domestic breeders constantly come up with new names for the varieties obtained, enter them in the State Register of Achievements in order to provide legal protection for them.
In their work, professionals in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry are guided by the main achievements of science and technology, and also apply new approaches to changing the properties of animals and plants, called biotechnologies (genetic engineering).
The difference between traditional breeding and similar innovations is the definition and application of the natural characteristics of biological systems, the objective development of natural processes. Among the positive results of the work of modern domestic breeders, we highlight the fact that such achievements guarantee the effectiveness of the existence of two branches of agricultural production at once: livestock and crop production.