Title: | Articles 7, § 3 and 9, § 1 3) and § 2 of the Patent Law of 27/12/2011 |
Field of IP: | Patents |
Type of flexibility: | Exclusion from patentability of plants |
Summary table: |
Patentable inventions
Article 7
In accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, patent shall be granted for an invention for a product consisting of or containing biological material, or the process of which biological material is produced, processed or used, including:
2) plants or animals, if the technical feasibility of the invention is not confined to a particular plant or animal variety;
3) a microbiological or other technical process or a product obtained by means of such a process.
Exceptions to Patentability
Article 9
Patent or petty patent shall not be granted in respect of:
3) a plant or animal variety or an essentially biological process for the production of a plant or animal, provided that this provision shall not apply to microbiological processes or the products obtained by means of such process.
Plant variety referred to in item 3) of paragraph 1 of this Article means any plant grouping within a single botanical classification of the lowest known rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of a plant breeders' rights are fully met, can be:
1) defined by the expression of the characteristics that results from a given genotype or combination of genotype,
2) distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the said characteristics,
3) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged;
Essentially biological process referred to in item 3) paragraph 1. of this Article for the production of plants or animals is a process consists entirely of natural phenomena such as crossing or selection;
Microbiological process referred to in item 3) paragraph 1. of this Article means any process involving or performed upon or resulting in microbiological material .