New Zealand Law Society - New Plants Variety Rights approach announced

New Plants Variety Rights approach announced

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The Government has announced that it has agreed on a new approach to New Zealand's Plant Variety Rights regime.

It is intended that new legislation will be introduced to Parliament in May 2020.

The announcement follows release of an Issues Paper in 2018 and an Options Paper in 2019, along with extensive public consultation through a series of hui and industry workshops. The regime has been under review by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) since 2017.

Along with modernising the PVR Act, the central focus of the review has been to design a regime that is consistent with the Crown’s Treaty of Waitangi obligations and New Zealand’s obligations under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“Our plant breeding industry has changed significantly over the last 30 years, and a review of this intellectual property law was necessary to ensure the PVR regime both meets our obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and is fit-for-purpose for a modern, dynamic, internationally-connected plant breeding industry,” says MBIE Manager of Intellectual Property Policy, Susan Hall.

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