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Agricultural Growth Act (S.C. 2015, c. 2), Canada
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Latest Version in WIPO Lex
Year of Version
2015
Dates
Adopted:
February 25, 2015
Type of Text
IP-related Laws
Subject Matter
Trademarks,
Plant Variety Protection,
Enforcement of IP and Related Laws,
IP Regulatory Body,
Other
Notes
The notification by Canada to the WTO under Article 63.2 of TRIPS states:
'[The Agricultural Growth Act, formerly referred to as Bill C-18] amends the Plant Breeders' Rights Act (PBR Act). The Act is designed to modernize Canada's agriculture legislation and encourage innovation in the sector.
Among the changes are amendments to encourage investment in plant breeding in Canada and foster more accessibility to foreign seed varieties for farmers.
The Act amends the PBR Act to strengthen the rights of breeders and improve accessibility to protection by:
- extending plant breeders rights to include reproduction, import, export, conditioning (clean, treat), and stocking for the commercial purposes of propagating, in addition to the current system that already allows for the sale of propagating material and the production of propagating material intended for sale;
- allowing plant breeders to sell a variety in Canada for up to one year before applying for PBR protection in order to test the market, advertise, or to increase stock;
- providing automatic provisional protection for a new plant variety from the date of filing, which would allow applicants to exercise their rights while applications are pending 'grant of rights' (no legal action in respect of provisional protection could be initiated until after the rights are granted); and
- extending the protection period from 18 years to 25 years (for trees, vines or any specified categories) and 20 years for all other crops, unless the breeder terminates them earlier.
Amendments to the PBR Act under the Act bring it into conformity with the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 91). On June 19, 2015, Canada deposited its instrument of ratification with the UPOV Secretary General, becoming the 53rd country to be bound by this Convention.'
Available Texts
Main text(s)
Main text(s)
French
Loi sur la croissance du secteur agricole (L.C. 2015, ch. 2)
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English
Agricultural Growth Act (S.C. 2015, c. 2)
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Related Legislation
Amends (1 text(s))
Amends (1 text(s))
WIPO Lex No.
CA199