PLANT BREEDER’S RIGHTS

CHAPTER 64:03
PLANT BREEDER’S RIGHTS

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

    SECTION

PART I
PRELIMINARY

    1.    Short title

    2.    Interpretation

PART II
ADMINISTRATION

    3.    Administration of the Act

    4.    Technical Advisory Committee

    5.    Meetings of the Committee

    6.    Functions of the Committee

    7.    Plant Breeder’s Rights Department

    8.    Registrar of Plant Breeder’s Rights and other staff

    9.    Functions of the Registrar

    10.    Register

PART III
APPLICATION FOR AND GRANT OF PLANT BREEDER’S RIGHTS

    11.    Requirements for plant breeder’s rights

    12.    Prior knowledge or publication of new plant excused in certain circumstances

    13.    Persons entitled to make application

    14.    Application for plant breeder’s rights and effective date thereof

    15.    Description and samples of new varieties

    16.    Name of plant variety

    17.    Refusal of application

    18.    Amendment of an application

    19.    Publication of an application

    20.    Rights of applicant for plant breeder’s rights

    21.    Exemptions to the rights of a breeder

    22.    Objection to grant of plant breeder’s rights

    23.    Grant or refusal of plant breeder’s rights

    24.    Cancellation of plant breeder’s rights

    25.    Duty of a holder of plant breeder’s rights

    26.    Rights of a holder of plant breeder’s rights

    27.    Exceptions to plant breeder’s rights

    28.    Surrender of plant breeder’s rights

PART IV
LICENSING

    29.    Licences

    30.    Compulsory licences

PART V
APPEALS

    31.    Appeals Committee

    32.    Assessors

    33.    Time for appeals

    34.    Right of audience

    35.    Notifications by Registrar to the Appeals Committee

    36.    Review by the High Court

PART VI
OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

    37.    Falsification of documents

    38.    Failure to obey order of Appeals Committee or giving false evidence

    39.    Deceiving or improper influencing of officer

    40.    Unauthorized claim of plant breeder’s rights or use of authorized name

    41.    Offences by officers

    42.    General penalty

PART VII
FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

    43.    Plant Breeder’s Rights Fund

    44.    Levy

    45.    Administration of the Fund

    46.    Objectives of the Fund

    47.    Application of the Fund

    48.    Holding of the Fund

    49.    Books and other records of accounts and audit and reports of accounts

    50.    Financial year

PART VIII
GENERAL

    51.    Foreign applications

    52.    Exercise of discretion by the Registrar

    53.    Rights of patent agents and attorneys

    54.    Powers of Registrar to make corrections

    55.    Rectification of the Register

    56.    Evidence of certain entries and documents

    57.    Inspection and provision of certified copies of entries in Register

    58.    Preservation of secrecy

PART IX
MISCELLANEOUS

    59.    Application of this Act to the Government

    60.    Assignment etc. of plant breeder’s rights

    61.    Plant breeder’s rights granted in respect of existing varieties

    62.    Regulations

20 of 2018
G.N. 68/2020

    An Act to provide for the registration of plant breeder’s rights in respect of certain kinds of plants and the protection of the rights of persons who are registered as the holders of plant breeder’s rights; and to provide for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith

PART I
PRELIMINARY

1.    Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act.

2.    Interpretation

    In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

    “Appeals Committee” means the Appeals Committee appointed under section 31;

    “assignee” in relation to a new variety, means—

    (a)    a person who has derived his title to a new variety for Malawi directly or indirectly from the breeder or owner thereof; or

    (b)    the legal representative of a person who has derived his title to a new variety for Malawi directly or indirectly from the breeder or owner thereof;

    “breeder” means—

    (a)    a person or legal entity who bred, or discovered and developed a variety;

    (b)    a person or legal entity who is the employer of the person mentioned under (a) or who has commissioned the latter’s work; or

    (c)    the successor in title of the first or second person mentioned in (a) or (b), as the case may be;

    “Committee” means the Technical Advisory Committee appointed under section 4;

    “date of application” means the effective date of an application for plant breeder’s rights under section 13;

    “foreign application” means an application made under section 51, in respect of a variety which has its origin outside Malawi;

    “hybrid” means the first generation progeny of a cross which is produced under controlled pollination with parents sufficiently uniform to permit repeated production of the hybrid without change in uniformity or stability;

    “kind” in relation to a plant, means all related species, sub-species and varieties of any…