APPLICATION OF PLANT BREEDERS' RIGHTS TO HERBAGE SPECIES - SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

D. S. Loch

Department of Primary Industries, PO Box 395, Gympie, Qid 4570, Australia

Since the first UPOV Convention (1961), the application of Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR) has been dominated by the needs of major arable crops.  These are generally self-pollinating, readily amenable to classical plant breeding, and were already well established as economic species by the 196Os.  The 1991 amendments to the UPOV Convention extended eligibility for PBR to all plant species, but did not complement this with an all-encompassing concept of 'breeding”.  This limitation is discussed in relation to new economic species and to the apomictic grasses that are not readily amenable to classical plant breeding because they reproduce asexually.

Keywords: Plant Breeders' Rights; plant variety protection; breeding; herbage seed.