ROMANIA
LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF THE NEW PLANT VARIETIES
CHAPTER I General Provisions
Article 1 Object of Protection
Breeders' rights in the new plant varieties of all genera and species of plants are protected and recognized in the territory of Romania, through the grant of a variety patent by the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, on the conditions specified in this Law.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purposes of this Law:
a) variety means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which grouping may be:
1) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes;
2) distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the characteristics under para 1);
3) considered as a unit with respect to its suitability for propagation unchanged the hybrid with the parental forms is also consider to be a variety;
b) protected variety means cultivated variety for which a variety patent has been granted by the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks;
c) propagating material means seeds, whole plants or various parts of plants which are capable of reproducing the whole plants;
d) breeder means:
1) the person who has bred or discovered and developed a new variety;
2) the person who is the employer of the person referred to in para (1) or who has commissioned the work of creating or discovering new varieties in accordance with this Law or an agreement specifying that the breeders' rights belong to the former;
3) the successor in title of the person under paragraph (1) or (2), as the case may be;
e) applicant means the person who has filed an application for the grant of a variety patent with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks;
f) holder means the person who holds a breeders' rights;
g) Office means the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks;
h) growing tests means trials conducted by growing to determine the distinctness, uniformity and stability of the new variety in comparison with a reference variety.
Article 3 National Treatment
Any foreign natural or legal person having his place of residence or registered office outside the territory of Romania shall also benefit from the provisions of this Law in terms of the international conventions on plant variety protection to which Romania is a party.
Article 4 Representation
Natural and legal persons applying for the protection of a new plant variety may be represented, in the proceedings before the Office concerning the protection of the new variety, by an authorized agent having his place of residence or registered office in Romania. Representation by an authorized agent is mandatory for foreigners.
CHAPTER II
PATENTABILITY OF NEW PLANT VARIETIES
Article 5 Conditions of Protection
The Office grants protection for a new plant variety and issues a variety patent if the variety is:
a) new; b) distinct; c) uniform; d) stable and e) designated by a denomination in conformity with the provisions of Article 15.
Article 6 Novelty
(1) The variety is new if, on the filing date of the application for the grant of protection, or on the priority date, propagating material or harvested material of the variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed of to the others either by or with the consent of the breeder, for the purpose of exploitation of the new variety
(a) on the territory of Romania, earlier than one year before the filing date of the application for a variety patent;
(b) on the territory of other States, earlier than six years before the filing of the application for a variety patent for fruit trees, vines and forest trees, and earlier than four years for another species.
(2) Novelty shall likewise not be lost where the variety
(a) forms part of an agreement on the transfer of rights, and the commercial exploitation of the variety did not take place prior to the filing of the application;
(b) forms part of an agreement between the breeder and another person by virtue of which the breeder authorizes the multiplication of the propagating material under his control;
(c) forms part of an agreement between the breeder and a third party concerning the conduct of a study or of a field test or laboratory trials, or of small-scale processing trials for the evaluation of the variety;
(d) has been disposed of to others as propagating or harvested material of the variety used for the purposes specified in Article 27 para (1) and not used for subsequent propagation, those acts not being deemed commercial exploitation of the new variety within the meaning of Article 27 para (1);
(e) has been disposed of as a result of the breeder having displayed the new variety at an officially recognized exhibition;
(f) has been disposed of to an official body, for statutory purposes or under a contract, with a view to production, reproduction, multiplication, processing or storage, provided that the breeder retains the exclusive right of exploitation of the variety and no other previous disposal for commercial purposes has taken place; if the variety has been thus disposed of for the production of a hybrid which has been marketed, the provisions of paragraph (1) shall be applied;
(g) has been disposed of by a company or firm to another company or firm to which it is subordinate, or which with it is wholly owned by a third such company or firm, provided that no other such disposal had taken place.
Article 7 Distinctness
(1) A variety is distinct if it is clearly distinguishable by the expression of one or more relevant characteristics that result from a particular genotype or combination of genotypes, from any other variety whose existence is a matter of common knowledge on the filing date of the application with the Office, or, where applicable, on the date of the priority claimed.
(2) The distinctness of a variety is defined by the morphological and physiological characteristics, provided that those characteristics are capable of precise recognition and description.
(3) Where a plant variety has been granted protection or has been the subject of a variety patent application for such protection or has been entered in the official register of plant varieties of any country, which application would result in the grant of the breeders' rights in that particular variety, the said variety shall be deemed a matter of common knowledge on the filing date of the variety patent application.
Article 8 Uniformity
A variety is uniform if, subject to the variation that might be expected of it, owing to the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently uniform in the expression of those characteristics that are included in the examination for distinctness, as well as any other characteristics used for variety description.
Article 9 Stability
The variety is stable, if the expression of the characteristics that are included in the examination for distinctness, and any other characteristics used for the variety description, remain unchanged after repeated propagation, or in special cases, at the end of each propagation cycle.
CHAPTER III RIGHT TO PROTECTION
Article 10 Right to a Variety Patent
(1) He right to a variety patent shall belong to the breeder. Where that right has been assigned under Article 35, it shall belong to the person to whom it has been assigned.
(2) If two or more breeders have bred or discovered and developed a new variety jointly, the right to protection shall belong to them jointly.
(3) The right to the grant of a variety patent shall also belong jointly to the breeder and to any other person if the breeder and the other person have declared in writing that they agree to such joint entitlement.
(4) A breeder, who created a new variety during an employment relationship is entitled, unless otherwise provided in his employment contract, to the breeders' rights and equitable remuneration.
(5) When the amount of remuneration, is determined, account shall be taken of the economic value of the variety and also the income of the company attributable to its exploitation. The amount of the remuneration shall be established by contract concluded between the breeder or breeders and the company or, where the parties fail to agree, by a court of law.
(6) Where a judgement has ruled that a person other than the one mentioned in the variety patent is entitled to the grant of protection, the Office shall issue the variety patent to the entitled person and publish the change in the Official Bulletin for Industrial Property.
CHAPTER IV
PROCEDURE FOR THE EXAMINATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR VARIETY PATENTS
Article 11
Filing of the Application
The application for the grant of a variety patent shall be filed with the Office by any natural or legal person entitled to such grant under Article 10, or by the authorized agent of such person as provided by Law.
Article 12 Content of the Application for a Variety Patent
(1) The application for the grant of a variety patent shall contain:
(a) a request for the grant of a variety patent and the data identifying the applicant or applicants as the case may be;
(b) a provisional denomination of the variety;
(c) identification of the botanical taxon, with both its Latin and its common name;
(d) a technical questionnaire describing the new variety in a standardized form;
(e) a claim of priority deriving from an earlier application filed in another State, where applicable.
(2) The application for the grant of a variety patent shall be accompanied by the following documents:
(a) proof of payment of the fee for the filing of the application;
(b) documents confirming the priority, if claimed;
(c) the power of attorney where the applicant is represented by an authorized agent;
(d) a statement by the applicant on his own responsibility, that the variety for which protection (is sought) has not been commercially exploited, as provided in Article 6;
(e) the names of the breeder or breeders and a declaration by the applicant according to which, to the best of his knowledge, no other persons have been involved in breeding, or discovery and development of the variety;
(f) the instrument of assignment of the right to the grant of a variety patent where the applicant is not the same person as the breeder;
(g) any other documents and material capable of providing information on the origin and testing of the new variety, or on any variety patent application filed in another country;
(h) the geographical origin of the variety.
(3) The application shall relate to one variety only.
(4) All documentation shall be submitted in Romanian.
Article 13 Official Filing Date of the Variety Patent Application
(1) The official filing date of the variety patent application shall be the date on which it is filed with the Office, provided that at least the requirements specified in Article 12(1)(a) to (d) have been met, and that the application filing fee has been paid.
(2) The official filing date may also be the filing date of the application under paragraph (1) above where, for valid reasons, foreign applicants, whether natural of legal persons, submitted documentation in a foreign language, provided that Romanian translation of the application is produced within three months of the date of receipt of the documentation.
Article 14 Right of Priority
(1) The filing of an application for a variety patent confers a right of priority, starting on the filing date, for any subsequent application for a variety that is not clearly distinguishable from it as provided in Article 7.
(2) Any person who has previously filed a first application in a State party to an international convention in the field of new plant variety protection to which Romania is party, shall enjoy a right of priority of 12 months from the filing date of the first application if, within that period, he applies to the Office for the grant of a patent for the same variety, provided that the first application was properly filed on the priority date claimed.
(3) In order to prove the claim of priority from another State, the applicant shall submit to the Office, within three months from the filing of the application, certified copies of the documents of the first application, as well as the propagating material or other evidence proving that the varieties referred to in both applications are identical.
(4) Priority claimed under paragraph (3), above shall be recognized in so far as the priority fee prescribed by law has been paid.
(5) Failure to observe the time limit provided for in paragraph (2) above or failure to pay the priority fee shall result in non-recognition of the priority claimed.
(6) Acts performed within the period provided for in paragraph (2), such as the filing of another application or publication or use of the variety to which the first application relates, do not constitute grounds for refusal of a subsequent application and do not give rise to any third party rights.
Article 15 Variety Denomination
(1) The variety shall be designated by a generic denomination to permit its identification.
(2) The denomination shall be specified in the granted variety patent and shall also be used after the expiry of its term of validity.
(3) The denomination shall differ from any denomination that designates another existing variety belonging to the same or a closely related species.
(4) The denomination shall not consist only of figures, except where this is an established practice for the designation of certain plant varieties.
(5) The denomination shall not mislead or cause confusion concerning the characteristics, va lue or identity of the variety or of the breeder.
(6) If applications for the grant of variety patent are filed in Romania and simultaneously in other countries, the variety shall be registered under the same denomination in all the countries in which applications are filed, unless the Office considers the denomination unsuitable.
(7) If, by virtue of a prior right, the denomination has already been used or may cause confusion with the use of the denomination of another variety, the Office shall request the applicant to submit another denomination for his variety.
(8) In order to establish a correct denomination, the applicant may ask the Office, against payment of the preliminary examination fee, to conduct a search concerning the variety denomination.
(9) Any person who sells or markets propagating material of a protected variety is obliged to use the denomination of that variety even after expiry of the term of protection.
(10) Where a protected variety is offered for sale or marketed, a trademark, or trade name, or any other similar indication may be affixed to it for identification of the plant variety on the market.
(11) The variety denomination shall be entered in the National Register of Protected Varieties at the same time as the variety patent is issued.
(12) Where at least one of the conditions specified for in paragraphs (1) to (9) is not fulfilled, the Office shall cancel the registered denomination.
Article 16 Examination of the Application as to Form
(1) Within two months from the filing date of an application for the protection of a new variety, the Office shall ascertain whether the documentation filed by the applicant satisfies the formal requirements for the application, set forth in Article 10 (1) to (4) and 12.
(2) If the application meets the requirements referred to in paragraph (1) above, the Office shall enter the application in the National Register of the Variety Patent Applications and notify the applicant accordingly.
(3) Applications for the protection of the new varieties filed with the Office shall be published, within three months from the date of filing, in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property.
(4) Where the application for the grant of a variety patent does not meet one of the provisions of Article 10, and 12, the Office shall decide, within an examination board, to reject the application.
Article 17 Substantive Examination of the Application
(1) The Office shall within nine months carry out a substantive examination of the variety patent application with respect to its novelty and variety denomination as provided for in Article 6, 15 and 16.
(2) The Office shall notify the applicant or his successor in title of the result of the substantive examination of the application; where the result is negative, a period not exceeding three months shall be accorded for reply.
(3) The applicant may for legitimate reasons ask the Office for a two -month extension of the period for reply.
(4) If after the substantive examination, the Office decides, that the application meets the requirements laid down in Articles 6, 10, 12 and 16, the variety shall undergo a technical examination by a competent national authority to which the Office shall send the documentation within one month from the decision.
(5) Where the application has not met the requirements of Article 6, 10, 12 and 16 and the applicant neither responds to the notification within the prescribed period, nor applies for an extension, the Office shall reject the application.
Article 18 Technical Examination of the New Variety
(1) The variety shall undergo a technical examination in order:
(a) to verify that the variety belongs to the botanical taxon stated;
(b) to establish that the variety is distinct, uniform and stable within the meaning of Articles 7 to 9.
(c) to establish the official description of the variety.
(2) The technical examination shall be performed by a competent national authority, if the applicant fails on filing the application with the Office, to submit the findings of growing tests carried out by another internationally recognized authority.
(3) Where growing tests for a new variety have not been performed by the national authority or by an internationally recognized authority, the Office may take into account a technical report drawn up by another competent authority, and purchased with the applicant’s consent, provided that the prescribed fee is paid.
(4) The competent national authority or company designated to perform the growing tests shall carry out the necessary tests to determine whether the provisions of Articles 7 to 9 have been satisfied. The applicant shall make samples of the propagating material available to the authority conducting the tests in the amount requested and shall notify the Office, the date of delivery.
(5) Within two years from the start of the growing tests, the national competent authority shall draw up, on the basis of the results obtained, a technical report comprising the test findings, and the morphological and physiological characteristics of the new variety as compared with the reference variety and the conclusions regarding the fulfillment of the requirements laid down in Articles 7 to 9.
(6) Where the growing tests have been conducted by a foreign competent authority or by the breeder,
they may be subjected to an analysis by the national authority. The validity of the tests shall be confirmed by a notice sent to the Office, within six months from the receipt of the documentation. Refusal of the validity of the tests findings shall be pronounced by the national authority in writing with a statement of reason.
(7) The Office shall reject the application for a variety patent if the validity of the tests is disputed by the national authority.
(8) The decision of the Office may be challenged by the applicant before the Board of Appeal of the Office, within three months from the communication.
(9) The Board of Appeal may decide:
(a) to accept the appeal and grant the variety patent;
(b) to accept the appeal, return the application for further substantive examination and were applicable request repetition of the test;
(c) to reject the applicant’s appeal.
Article 19 Testing of the Variety
(1) For the testing of the new variety the national authority may conduct its own growing tests or accept the findings of the tests performed by the applicant.
(2) The growing tests shall be conducted according to the methodology approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the Office on the basis of the international guidelines for the testing of the new plant varieties.
(3) After having received the documentation and conducted the examination as to form, the Office, together with the national authority, shall establish the site for the trials and the amount of material necessary for organizing them and notify the applicant accordingly, inviting him to submit the propagating material requested. The Office and the national authority may request the applicant to submit all information, documents and materials necessary for the satisfactory conduct of the technical examination.
(4) If, within the period allowed, the information, documents or materials requested are not submitted, the variety patent, application shall be rejected.
(5) The applicant has the right to inspect the crop trials, during the testing of the new variety.
Article 20
Decisions of the Office
(1) The Office shall decide, on the basis of the technical report of the national authority or of an internationally recognized authority, whether the new variety meets the requirements laid down for in Articles 7 to 9 and 16 and shall grant the variety patent, or reject the application as appropriate.
(2) The decision to reject shall be taken by the Office only after the applicant has been notified of the
grounds for rejection and allowed a period of at least three months within which to submit comments.
(3) Decisions to grant variety patents, each with the description of the variety attached, shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property within three months from the decision.
(4) During the term of the variety patent the official description of the protected variety may be amended by the Office or the applicant, subject to mutual consultation, in response to developments in agrobiological knowledge and variety description methods without the scope of protection and the characteristics of the new variety being thereby affected. Amendments made to the official description shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property.
(5) Decisions of the Office may be challenged by applicants’ appeals on just grounds, the being lodged with the Board of Appeal of the Office in accordance with Article 38 (1).
Article 21 Provisional Protection
(1) During the period between the publication of the variety patent application under Article 16 (3) and the grant of the variety patent, the applicant shall provisionally enjoy all rights conferred on the patent holder, under Article 27.
(2) The infringement by third parties of rights provided for in paragraph (1) above shall make the infringers liable for damages under civil law, payment of the damages being enforceable once the rights have been granted.
(3) Any person who commits the acts provided for in Article 27 without the holder’s authorization during the period of provisional protection shall be liable under Article 40 (1).
(4) When the variety patent application has been rejected, the applicant shall not enjoy the rights provided for in paragraph (1) above.
Article 22 Extension of the Time Limit
The time limit for the examination of the application for a variety patent, and for verifying the growing tests findings may be extended by one year on payment of the fees provided for in items 3 and 4 of the Appendix.
Article 23 Withdrawal of the Application
The application for a variety patent may be withdrawn, on a request submitted to the Office by the applicant, any time until the decision on the grant of the variety patent is taken.
Article 24 Revocation of the Decision to Grant the Variety Patent
(1) Within three months from publication any person may apply to the Office for revocation of the decision to grant a variety patent, where at least one of the conditions set forth in Articles 6 to 10 and 15 has not been met; the request shall be made in writing and substantiated.
(2) The request for revocation shall be examined by the Board of Appeal within three months from the filing thereof with the Office.
(3) The Board of Appeal may, if it sees fit, ask the national authority to repeat the growing tests on the variety or to use the services of an expert who shall take part in the reexamination of the new variety.
(4) The decision of the Board of Appeal shall be communicated to the parties within 15 days of being pronounced.
(5) The decision of the Board of Appeal may be appealed against as provided in Article 38.
(6) Final decisions shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property within 30 days.
Article 25 Issue of the Variety Patent and Registration of the Variety Denomination
(1) The variety patent shall be issued by the Director General of the Office in pursuance of the decision to grant the variety patent.
(2) The variety patent and the variety denomination shall be entered in the National Register of Protected Varieties, which is open to the public and may be consulted by third parties on payment of the inspection fee prescribed by the law.
(3) Where the application is filed by two or more applicants, the variety patent shall be issued to the first applicant mentioned in the application and the others shall be issued duplicates thereof.
(4) Where breeder, is not the holder of the patent, he shall be entitled to receive a duplicate of the granted variety patent on request.
CHAPTER V PROTECTION OF THE VARIETY
Article 26 Duration of Variety Protection
(1) The term of protection of the variety shall be 25 years as from the date of grant of the variety patent.
(2) For species of fruit trees, vines and ornamental forest trees the term of the variety patent shall be 30 years as from the date of the grant of protection.
CHAPTER VI RIGHTS OF THE HOLDER
Article 27 Exclusive Rights of the Holder
(1) The holder of rights shall enjoy the exclusive right of exploitation of the new variety and the right
to prevent any person, without his authority, from performing the following acts in relation to the propagating material and harvested material of the protected variety:
(a) production or reproduction; (b) processing for the purpose of propagation; (c) offering for sale; (d) selling or other marketing; (e) importing; (f) exporting; (g) stocking for one of the purposes mentioned in subparagraphs (a) to (f).
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall also apply to varieties:
(a) that are essentially derived from the protected variety, where the protected variety is not itself an essentially derived variety;
(b) that are not clearly distinguishable from the protected variety in the meaning of Article 7;
(c ) the production of which requires repeated use of the protected variety;
(3) For purpose of paragraph 2(a) a variety shall be deemed "essentially derived" from another variety when:
(a) it is predominantly derived from the initial variety or from a variety that is itself predominantly derived from the initial variety;
(b) it is distinguishable, in terms of Article 7, from the initial variety from which it is derived;
(c) it conforms to the initial variety in the expression of the essential characteristics resulting from a genotype or combination of genotypes thereof, except for the differences resulting from the derivation.
Article 28 Exceptions to the Exclusive Rights of the Holder
(1) The rights conferred by a variety patent, under Article 27, shall not extend to:
(a) acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes;
(b) acts done for experimental purposes, including those done in the process of breeding other varieties from initial material.
(2) The persons who use the protected variety in the manner provided for in paragraph (1) are obliged to inform the holder accordingly.
Article 29 Exhaustion of the Holder´s Rights
(1) The holder’s rights shall not extend to acts in relation to any propagating or harvested material of the protected variety or of a variety covered by the provisions of Article 27(2) or to those in relation to parts of the plant of the protected variety or to any material derived from that variety that have been sold or marketed by the holder or with his consent, unless such acts involve:
(a) propagation of the protected variety;
(b) exporting the material of the protected variety to a third country that does not protect varieties of the genus or species to which the new variety belongs, except where the exported material is used for consumption.
CHAPTER VII LAPSE OF THE VARIETY PATENT
Article 30 Invalidation of the Variety Patent
(1) Any person having a legitimate interest may file a request for invalidation with the Office any time during the period of protection.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall invalidate the variety when it is established:
(a) that the variety was not new, in terms of Article 6 or distinct in terms of Article 7 on the filing date of application, or on the date of any priority claimed;
(b) that, where the grant of the variety patent has been essentially based on trials carried out or on information and documents submitted by the applicant, the variety was not uniform in terms of Article 8 or stable in terms of Article 9 on the date of grant;
(c) that the person who has been granted the variety patent is not entitled to it, except where the rights have been transferred to the entitled person.
(3) Decisions shall be communicated to the parties within 15 days of pronouncement, and may be challenged under Article 38.
(4) The decision to invalidate the variety patent shall be entered in the National Register of Protected Varieties and published in the Official Bulletin for Industrial Property.
(5) The decision to invalidate the variety patent come into effect on the date on which the application was filed with the Office.
Article 31 Forfeiture of Rights
(1) The Office shall declare the holder’s rights forfeit where one of the following situations obtains:
a) the holder does not fulfil his obligation to maintain the protected variety, as provided in Article 33(1);
b) the holder does not act on a request for the Office or the national authority that he supply information or material for the purpose of verifying the protected variety during the term of the patent;
c) the holder does not, within the time allowed, propose a suitable denomination for the plant variety where the Office has asked for a change in the denomination because it no longer fulfils the conditions set forth in Article 15;
d) the holder fails to pay the fees for keeping the variety patent in force;
(2) The Office shall not declare the holder’s rights forfeit before having notified him of his failure to comply with one of the obligations under paragraph (1)(a) to (c). Forfeiture of rights shall be published in the Official Bulletin for Industrial Property and shall be effective as of the date of entry in the National Register of Protected Varieties.
(3) The holder may, within 6 months from the date of publication of the forfeiture request the Office to revalidate the variety patent on just grounds.
(4) The decision of the Board of Appeal on the request for revalidation of the patent shall be communicated to the parties within 15 days of its pronouncement and may be challenged under Article 38. Revalidation of the variety patent shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property.
(5) Exploitation of the variety by the third parties during the period between the forfeiture of rights and the revalidation of the patent shall not constitute infringement of the rights provided for in Articles 25 and 27.
Article 32 Renunciation to the Variety Patent
(1) The holder may renounce the variety patent at any time during the protection period on the basis of a written declaration submitted to the Office.
(2) The holder is obliged to inform the breeder of his intention to renounce the variety patent. At the breeder’s request the holder is obliged to transfer his rights in the patent to him before filing the written declaration of renunciation.
(3) Renunciation shall be effective as of the date of its submission to the Office. Renunciation shall be recorded in the National Register of Protected Varieties and published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property.
(4) Where the variety patent has been the subject of a licence contract, renunciation is possible only with the consent of the licensees.
CHAPTER VIII EXPLOITATION OF THE PROTECTED VARIETY
Article 33 Maintenance of the Protected Variety
(1) The holder is obliged to maintain the protected variety throughout the term of the variety patent so that the variety retains all the characteristics presented in the official description on the date of grant of the variety patent.
(2) In order to verify the distinctness, uniformity and stability of the protected variety, the national authority may ask the holder to supply seed, propagating material or documents, or any other information required for the purpose.
(3) The Office may, at any time, during the term of the variety patent, request the holder to provide information and documents attesting the existence of the variety and the maintenance of its characteristics.
(4) Where the holder does not comply with the request, the Office shall declare his rights under the variety patent forfeit in accordance with Article 31 (1)(a).
Article 34 Transfer of Variety Rights
(1) The right to apply for a variety patent, the rights in the variety patent, the rights deriving from the filing of the application for the variety patent with the Office, and the rights derived from the variety patent may be transferred to other natural or legal persons.
(2) The transfer of rights is performed by assignment, by an exclusive or non-exclusive licence contract or by legal or testamentary provision.
(3) The rights in a new variety shall likewise be transferred in the case prosecution of the holder in accordance with the Law.
(4) The transfer of rights shall not affect rights acquired by the third parties before the date of transfer.
(5) The assignment or the exclusive licence shall be entered in the National Register of Variety Patent Applications or the National Register of Protected Varieties, as the case may be, and shall become enforceable against third parties on the date of registration.
Article 35 Assignment Contract
The variety for which a patent application has been filed or for which a patent has been granted may the subject matter of an assignment contract.
Article 36 Licence Contract
(1) A variety for which a patent has been granted may be the subject of a licence contract.
(2) Where an exclusive licence is granted, the licencee shall enjoy the exclusive right of exploitation of the new variety, within the limits specified in the licence contract.
(3) Whenever a non-exclusive licence is granted, the holder shall retain the right to grant licences to third parties. The licencee does no have the right to transfer the right of exploitation of the variety to third
parties.
(4) The holder may publish his offer to grant the licence in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property.
(5) The Office shall enter the exclusive licence contract in the National Register of Protected Varieties and publish it in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property.
Other licence contracts may also be entered in the Register at the request of the interested party.
Article 37 Compulsory Licences
(1) The Office may grant a compulsory licence at the request of any interested party after the expiry of a period of five years from the date of grant of the variety patent when:
a) the holder does not exploit the protected variety and cannot justify his inaction;
b) the protected variety is a matter of public interest.
(2) A compulsory licence shall be non-exclusive and shall be granted on specific conditions regarding duration, the exploitation of the variety and the amount of compensation payable to the holder.
(3) The compulsory licence confers on the licencee the right to receive original propagating material from the holder.
(4) The grant of a compulsory licence does not prevent the patent holder from exploiting the variety or from granting licences to third parties.
(5) Compulsory licences shall be granted by the Office, acting though the Board of Appeal, and by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, acting through its representatives.
(6) Were it is ascertained that the licencee has failed to fulfil his obligation to exploit the variety in the manner specified, the compulsory licence may, at the holder’s request, be revoked by the Office, acting through the Board referred to in paragraph (5).
(7) Decisions of the Board of Appeal concerning the grant or withdrawal of compulsory licences shall be communicated to the parties within 15 days from pronouncement, and shall be subject to the appeals provided for in Article 38.
(8) The Office shall register the compulsory licence in the National Register of Protected Varieties and publish it in the Official Bulletin for Industrial Property.
CHAPTER IX PROTECTION OF RIGHTS IN NEW PLANT VARIETIES
Article 38 Appeals Against Decisions of the Office
(1) Decisions of the Office may be appealed against by interested parties before the Office within three
months from communication.
(2) The appeal or the request for revocation or cancellation of the variety patent, as the case may be, shall be considered by the Board of Appeal within three months of being filed. The composition of the Board shall be different from the composition of the Examination Board, being composed of representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the Office.
(3) The finding of the Board of Appeal shall be communicated to the parties within 15 days of being pronounced, and may be challenged in the Court of Bucharest within 30 days of being communicated.
(4) The decision of the Court of Bucharest may be appealed before the Court of Appeal of Bucharest within 15 days of being communicated.
(5) The Office is obliged to submit to the Court, at its request, the necessary documents and information for judging the case referred to it.
Article 39 Competence of the Courts
Litigations seeking to deprive of his status the breeder, patent holder or holder of other rights derived from the variety patent, including economic rights under an assignment or licence contract, or litigation relating to failure to comply with provisions of Articles 33(1) and 34, shall be within the competence of the courts of law.
CHAPTER X OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
Section 1
Article 40 Infringement and Disclosure
(1) Any of the acts mentioned in Article 27 and any of the acts mentioned below, performed without the variety patent holder’s authorization shall be deemed infringement:
a) using a denomination, other than the registered denomination of the new variety, for propagating material produced and sold;
b) using the registered denomination of a new variety for propagating material produced and sold that does not belong to that variety;
c) giving a denomination to propagating material produced and sold that is so close to the denomination of the protected variety, that it may cause confusion;
d) selling propagating material with false indications that it belongs to a variety for which a variety patent has been granted, thereby misleading purchasers;
e) falsehood in the registration of a variety in the National Register of Protected Varieties;
f) drawing up false reports, and falsification of documentation required by this Law;
g) submitting documents containing false information.
(2) The acts specified in paragraph 1 shall constitute an offense punishable with imprisonment for a term of three months to three years or with a fine of 3 million to 15 million lei, which amount shall be updated by Government decision according to the rate of inflation. The attempted act shall likewise be punished.
(3) Disclosure of data and information constituting a trade secret concerning a new variety for which a variety patent has been applied for or granted shall be punished under criminal law.
(4) Where any of the offences provided for in paragraphs (1) and (3) is committed by a public official in the course of his duties, it shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of six months to five years.
(5) Criminal proceedings shall be initiated on a complaint by the injured party.
(6) The holder is entitled to claim damages under the provisions of ordinary legislation for prejudice caused to him, and the infringing goods shall be seized under the provisions of criminal law.
Section 2
Article 41 Actions for Infringement
(1) A legal action for infringement may only be initiated by the holder after publication of the grant of the variety patent.
(2) Where a licence has been granted and were not otherwise provided in the contract, the licencee may not sue for infringement without the consent of the holder.
(3) The holder of an exclusive licence may initiate a legal action for infringement, if the variety patent holder has been informed of the alleged infringement and has not take any action within a time limit requested by the licencee.
(4) Where a legal action for infringement has been brought by the variety patent holder, any of the licencees may intervene to demand that the prejudice caused by the infringement be made good.
CHAPTER XI PROVISIONAL MEASURES, EVIDENCE, FEES
Article 42 Provisional Measures, Evidence
(1) The holder may request the court:
a) to order provisional measures where there is a risk of infringement of the rights deriving from the variety patent and where such infringement is liable to cause irreparable prejudice, and also where there is a risk of evidence being destroyed;
b) to order, immediately on application, measures to put an end to the infringement of rights committed by a third party in connection with the introduction into commercial channels of imported
merchandise that would infringe those rights;
c) to order the seizure or destruction of propagating material referred to in Articles 40(1)(b) to (d).
(2) The cour t shall order the infringer of the rights under the variety patent to inform the holder of the identity of third parties who have taken part in production and distribution of the propagating material specified to in Article 40 (1) (b) to (d).
(3) The provisions of Articles 581 and 582 from the Code of Civil Procedure shall be applicable to the ordering of the measures referred to in paragraph (1).
(4) When provisional measures are ordered, the court may oblige the plaintiff to provide security, in an amount that it shall specify.
(5) The court may ask the plaintiff to supply any evidence available to prove that he is the holder of the rights infringed or the infringement of which is unavoidable.
(6) Where the evidence supporting the claims of the plaintiff is in the defendant's possession, the court may order the defendant to produce the evidence, provided that confidentiality of information is guaranteed, as provided by law.
(7) The court shall order the plaintiff to pay the defendant all damages arising from improper exercise of the procedural rights concerning the variety.
Article 43 Fees
(1) The fees for the procedures provided for in this Law shall be paid into the bank account of the Office, in the amounts and by the time limits specified in the Appendix which forms an integral part of this Law.
(2) Romanian applicants or holders, whether natural or legal persons, shall pay the fees in lei. Foreign natural and legal persons, who are applicants, or holders or to whom industrial property rights have been transferred, shall pay the fees in currency. Where there are two or more applicants or holders, the fees owed jointly, shall be paid in currency.
(3) Applicants for or holders of variety patents whose rights have not been transferred to them or who have transferred their rights as provided by law, before the time of payment, shall pay the fees specified in the Appendix, reduced by 50 per cent of each fee, if they are natural or legal persons or domestic research or education institutes.
(4) The reduction provided for in paragraph (3) shall be applicable to each procedure separately, on the date of payment, if the conditions specified in the said paragraph are satisfied and supporting documents are supplied.
(5) The fees for variety patent applications and variety patents payable for the procedure before the Office shall constitute income and shall be assigned to extra-budgetary items as provided by Law.
(6) From the fees paid to it, the Office shall pay the national or international technical authorities, as
the case may be, the amounts due for the conduct of growing tests.
Article 44 Competence
(1) Competence for the enforcement of this Law belong to the Office and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry.
(2) The Office, as a specialized body responsible to the Government and sole authority within the territory of Romania for the grant of industrial property protection, shall grant patents for the new varieties under this Law and in accordance with the international conventions to which Romania is a party, and shall have the following duties:
a) filing, publishing and examining applications for the grant of patents for the new varieties;
b) keeping the National Register of Variety Patent Applications and the National Register of Protected Varieties;
c) regularly issuing the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property, and specifically the section for variety patents, which contains information on variety patent applications, denominations of new varieties and proposals for denominations, and also new varieties for which variety patents have been granted;
d) ensuring the exchange of publications with similar foreign national administrations and specialized international organizations;
e) establishing, in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the characteristics to be specified in the technical questionnaire, in accordance with international guidelines for the protection of the new varieties;
f) certifying authorized agents for the procedures before the Office relating to the protection of the new varieties.
(3) The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, in exercising its prerogatives:
a) shall decide on the methodology for testing the new varieties from a technical point of view;
b) shall cooperate with the Office, with breeders’ associations, with the association of variety patent holders, with the association of producers of seed and propagating material, with the George Ionescu Sisesti Academy of Agricultural and Horticultural Science, and with specialized research institutes and testing stations in order to establish the characteristics involved in the protection of the new varieties;
c) shall designate the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry on the Board of Appeal.
(4) The Office and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry shall entertain relations with similar governmental organizations and international organizations specialized in the protection of new varieties of plants, of which Romania is a member.
Article 45
Protection of the New Varieties Abroad
Romanian natural and legal persons shall have the right to choose the State in which they file their first application for the grant of a variety patent or a similar title of protection.
CHAPTER XII FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 46
(1) Applications for variety patents filed with the Office under Patent Law no. 64/1991 and Government Decision no. 152/1992 approving Regulations implementing the Patent Law no. 64/1991 for which no decision has been taken to grant or refuse grant shall be settled in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
(2) This Law shall enter into force 90 days following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania.
(3) Within 90 days following the publication of this Law in the Official Gazette of Romania, the Government shall, on a proposal by the Office, approve the Regulations implementing this Law.
(4) On the entry into force of this Law, the provisions on the protection of plant varieties and hybrids laid down in Articles 7 it (3) and 11 of Patent Law no. 64/1991, the provisions on plant varieties and hybrids in Chapter III of Government Decision no. 152/1992 and any other contrary provisions shall be repealed.
ANNEX
APPENDIX
Crt . No.
Purpose Time of payment Amount in thousands of lei *)
Amount in $
1. Filing fee on filing application
140 20
2. Priority claim: a) on filing application
on date of filing application or within 3 months
350 50
b) within 3 months from filing application for variety patent
on date of claim 700 100
3. Examination fee for variety patent on plant grouping: for each year of examination
1
2 and 3
4
on date of examination request
910 130
on date of examination request
560 80
on date of examination request
350 50
4. Verification of the growing tests (on request)
5. Preliminary examination of variety denomination
6. Issue of variety patent
7. Examination of appeal at the time of lodging the appeal
350 50
8. Examination of request for revocation
an requesting revocation
1050 50
9. Examination of request for cancellation
on requesting cancellation 1050
50
10. Maintenance fee for variety patent
- from year 1 to year 5
at the end of each year of protection
1 38
2 35 0
3 315
4 28 0
5 28 0
1 55
2 50
3 45
4 40
5 40
- subsequent years, per year
at the end of each year of protection
77 70 0
630 56 0
56 0
110 100 90 80 80
Crt. Purpose Time of payment Amount in thousands of lei *
Amount in $
11. Examination of tion for revalidation of patent
on requesting ation
700 100
12. Purchase of international al report for a new variety
when State or Inventions and arks requests the
2450 350
13. Inspection of National r of Protected Variety
on request 350 50
14. Filing change in legal f patent application or patent:
a) assignment
b) licensing c) other change
on filing and ng Registration
idem idem
140
350 175
20
50 25
15. Issue of duplicates, certificates
on filing request e Office for ons and arks
70 10
Variety grouping: 1. Cereals and technical plants 2. Fodder plants 3. Fruit trees and shrubs, vines 4. Vegetables, flowers, ornamentals trees
*) Calculated at the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Romania on the date of payment.
[End of document]