(As published in PVP Gazette, Issue No. 86, December 1999)
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 86/98, Ljubljana, December 18, 1998 (Translation as provided by Slovenia Ministry of Agriculture (see incoming mail 479 SI 99 in NLRM file)
LAW ON PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
This law regulates the procedure for the protection of new varieties of plants and granting and protection of plant breeder's rights.
The varieties of all genera and species can be protected including the cross-breeds between genera and species.
Article 2
The meaning of the terms used in this law: - defined by the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes,
- distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of these characteristics and
- considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged. Article 3
The procedure for the protection of a new variety, the register of applications for the protection of new varieties (hereinafter: register of applications) and the register of protected varieties are managed by Plant Variety Protection and Registration Office (hereinafter: Office) as a legal body within the Ministry, responsible for agriculture and forestry (hereinafter: Ministry).
II. CONDITIONS FOR VARIETY PROTECTION
Article 4
The variety shall protected by granting the plant breeder's right.
The plant breeder’s right shall be granted where it is:
-new,
- distinct,
-uniform,
-stable and
-identified by the denomination defined by this law.
Article 5
The variety is new at the date of filing of the application (hereinafter: filing date), if it has been sold or economically exploited with the consent of the person entitled in the Republic of Slovenia for no more than one year before the filing date and outside the Republic of Slovenia for no more than four years before the filing date and in case of trees and vine no more than six years before the said date.
The sales or economic exploitation of the variety in the sense of the first paragraph of this Article does not include:
-exploiting and trading the variety without consent or knowing of the person entitled, -field trials and laboratory tests or small- scale processing trials with the purpose of evaluating the value for cultivation and use of the variety provided it is done by the person entitled or a person authorised by him,
-official testing of the variety in order to enter the variety register and preparing the risk assessment for genetically modified varieties,
-selling the harvested material being a by-product or a surplus product of the creation of a new variety provided that this harvested material is intended for final use and that the name of the variety is not identified.
Propagating material of the variety being repeatedly used for production of another variety or a hybrid, is considered exploited for profit purposes when the plants or parts of plants of another variety were exploited.
Article 6
The variety is distinct if it is clearly distinguishable on the basis of at least one important characteristics from any other variety whose existence is a matter of common knowledge at the time of the filling of the application.
The variety is of common knowledge, especially if:
-it has been protected and listed in the variety register in any other country up to that day;
-an application for variety protection or listing the variety in a variety register was filled in any
other country and the procedure is completed by the variety protection or entry of the variety in
the register of varieties, and
-propagating material of the variety or the harvested material has been marketed or used for profit purposes.
Article 7
The variety is uniform if its characteristics which are basic for the distinction from other varieties, are sufficiently uniform in expression, in spite of the variations which may be expected from particular features of its propagation.
Article 8
The variety is stable if its relevant characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation or, in case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each such cycle.
Article 9
The denomination of a protected variety shall be its generic designation.
Article 10
Every denomination, which provides the distinguishing of the variety can be registered as the name of the protected variety and it may consist of any word, combination of words, combination of words and figures or a combination of letters and figures unless this law stipulates it otherwise.
Denomination should not be registered as the name of the protected variety if it: -is inappropriate for linguistic reasons; -prevents the identification of the variety;
-consists only of figures, only where this is already a common practise;
-is identical with or similar to the denomination that designates an existing variety of the same or a closely related species, unless the existing variety is no longer exploited and its denomination has not acquired any particular significance;
-misleads or causes confusion as to the origin, characteristics, value, usage, recognising or geographical origin;
-consists of botanical or general name of the genera or species, or includes such a name that can create confusion;
-includes words such as "variety, cultivated variety, form, hybrid, cross-breed" or a translation of these terms;
-misleads or creates confusion about the breeder or entitled person; -is contrary to public order and morality;
-is in opposition with the regulations of industrial property rights law.
If a certain variety has already been protected or listed in the variety register or an application for protection or entry in the register has been filed in any other state that has signed international contracts or conventions also signed or acceded to by the Republic of Slovenia, only the denomination of the variety which was registered, listed in the variety register or proposed in the application in another country, can be registered.
Exceptionally, the variety defined in the Republic of Slovenia, can be registered under a different nomination, but only if the usage of the previous name is not be suitable for linguistic reasons or in case of it being contrary to public order and morality.
Closely related species from the third item of the second paragraph of this article as well as more detailed conditions for the registration of the name of the variety shall be regulated by the Minister, competent for agriculture and forestry (hereinafter: Minister).
Article 11
The usage of the denomination of the protected variety is obligatory. The propagating material of the protected variety can only enter the market if the name of the protected variety is listed. This provision stands also after the expiry of the protection of the variety.
Provisions from the first paragraph of this article do not stand if the propagating material of the protected variety is used in non-commercial purposes in private sector.
The denomination used for the protected variety must be the same in all countries, except in case of exceptions from the fourth paragraph of the Article 10 in this law.
When a variety is marketed, the use of the registered variety denomination in association with a trademark or other indication shall be permitted, subject to the denomination remaining easily recognisable.
A designation that is identical or confusingly similar to the denomination of the protected variety can not be used for another variety of the same or closely related species.
III. PERSON ENTITLED TO THE VARIETY PROTECTION AND TO PLANT BREEDER'S RIGHT
Article 12
Person entitled to the variety protection and to the plant breeder's right is a breeder of the variety or his legal successor.
Where more persons have created, bred, discovered and developed a variety jointly, the entitlement to variety protection and plant breeder's right shall vest in them or their legal successors jointly.
Where more persons have created, bred, discovered and developed a variety separately, the one who first submitted the application is entitled to the plant breeder's right.
Where the breeder is an employee of a legal person and mutual rights and obligations are settled by a contract, the entitlement to the acquisition is defined by this contract. If not, the provisions of the regulations on industry property rights from the working contract considering the patents, are sensibly applied.
Article 13
The plant breeder's right can be applied for by the entitled person from Article 12 of this law, who is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia, other natural person with residence in the Republic of Slovenia and legal person with a registered office in the Republic of Slovenia.
Legal or natural person, a citizen of a foreign country, is granted the same plant variety protection rights in the Republic of Slovenia as domestic legal and natural person, if stipulated so in international contracts and conventions signed by the Republic of Slovenia or under the condition of reciprocity. The reciprocity is proven by whoever refers to it.
In the procedure of the Office, a foreign legal and natural person uses the rights of this law through a procedural representative on who is a natural person with residence in the Republic of Slovenia or legal person with a registered office in the Republic of Slovenia.
IV. PLANT BREEDER'S RIGHT
Article 14
The plant breeder's right is granted by protecting the variety.
The plant breeder's right includes only the right for economic exploitation and using the protected variety.
Article 15
The authorisation of the holder of the plant breeder's right is required for the use of the protected variety for: -production and reproduction of propagating material,
-conditioning for the purpose of propagation, -marketing of propagating material, including exporting and importing and
-stocking the material of the protected variety for any of the purposes mentioned above.
The holder's authorisation is also required for using harvested material of the protected variety but only if: The holder's authorisation for the acts in the first four items of this Article is also required for: A certain variety is an essentially derived variety if: -the initial variety or another variety which was itself derived from the initial one, was used as
the basic material for its breeding or discovery; -it is distinguishable subject to Article 6 of this law and -except for the differences which result from the act of derivation, it conforms to the initial
variety in the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety.
Article 16
The plant breeder's right is not infringed if: a) the protected variety is exploited or used for: -private non-commercial purposes;
-experimental purposes;
-breeding of new varieties;
b) the new variety from the third item of a) of this Article is economically exploited unless this new variety is an essentially derived one;
c) if the harvested material of the protected variety of certain plant species, produced by the farmers on their own holdings, is used for further sowing on this farm and the farmer, using this opportunity, pays a suitable remuneration to the holder of plant breeder's right. The remuneration is suitable if it is considerably lower than the amount charged for the licensed production of propagating material of this variety in the same area.
The producers who use the possibility of further sowing in accordance with item c) of the first paragraph of this Article, must present all the data on the extent of the further sowing to the holder of plant breeder's right on his request.
Small farmers are exempt from the remuneration in accordance with item c) of the first paragraph of this article.
The plant species from item c) of the first paragraph of this Article as well as the criteria for small farmers shall be regulated by the Minister.
Article 17
The plant breeder's right is also infringed if the propagating material of the protected or essentially derived variety is marketed by the holder himself or someone in agreement with him, if the person obtaining the propagating material of the protected or derived variety: -uses entire plant, a part of the plant or the harvest of the protected or derived variety for further
reproduction;