- CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS
- CHAPTER TWO APPLICATION FOR THE GRANT OF A PLANT VARIETY RIGHT
- CHAPTER THREE EXAMINATION OF THE APPLICATION AND TECHNICAL EXAMINATION OF THE VARIETY
- Article 11. Preliminary Examination of the Application
- Article 12. Substantive Examination of the Application
- Article 13. Technical Examination of the Variety
- Article 14. Arrangement of the Technical Examination of the Variety and Examination Results
- Article 15. Provisional Protection
- Article 16. Publication of Information
- CHAPTER FOUR DESIGNATION AND USE OF A VARIETY DENOMINATION
- CHAPTER FIVE GRANT, DURATION AND TERMINATION OF THE PLANT VARIETY RIGHT
- CHAPTER SIX RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE BREEDER
- Article 26. Rights of the Breeder
- Article 27. Application of Breeder’s Rights to Essentially Derived Varieties and Certain Other Varieties
- Article 28. Exceptions to the Breeder’s Right
- Article 29. Exhaustion of the Breeder’s Right
- Article 30. Assignment of the Breeder’s Rights
- Article 31. Obligations of the Breeder
- CHAPTER SEVEN LICENSING AGREEMENTS
- CHAPTER EIGHT DECISION MAKING, APPEALS AGAINST DECISIONS AND EXAMINATION OF APPEALS
- CHAPTER NINE INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION
- CHAPTER TEN ENFORCEMENT OF THE BREEDER’S RIGHTS AND LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF PLANT VARIETIES
- Article 41. Remedies for Infringement
- Article 41(1). Right of Information
- Article 41(2). Evidence
- Article 41(3). Provisional Measures and Measures for Preserving Evidence
- Article 41(4). Corrective Measures
- Article 41(5). Compensation for Material Damage
- Article 41(6). Publication of Judicial Decisions
- Article 41(7). Establishment of Non-infringement of Plant Variety Rights
- Article 41(8). Liability for Violations of this Law
- Article 41(9). Application of Border Measures
- CHAPTER ELEVEN FINAL PROVISIONS
- EU LEGAL ACTS IMPLEMENTED BY THE LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF PLANT VARIETIES
OFFICIAL TRANSLATION
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF PLANT VARIETIES
22 November 2001 No IX – 618
(As last amended by 19 October 2006 No X-862)
Vilnius
CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
1. The Law shall regulate relationships of natural and legal persons relating to the legal protection and use of plant varieties.
2. The Law shall apply to the varieties included in the list of plant genera and species approved by the Minister of Agriculture.
3. This Law shall implement the legal act of the European Union referred to in the Annex to the Law.
Article 2. Definitions
For the purposes of this Law
1. Harvested material shall mean entire plants or parts of plants.
2. Plant genus shall mean a grouping of organisms constituting a systematic unit and uniting closely related plant species descended from a common ancestor.
3. Plant species shall mean a grouping of related organisms constituting a systematic unit, occupying a relatively constant place in nature and fulfilling its functions in the universal biological metabolism in the manner specific only for that grouping.
4. Plant variety (hereinafter – variety) shall mean a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of a plant variety right are fully met, can 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 said characteristics;
3) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.
5. List of Plant Genera and Species shall mean the list approved by the Minister of Agriculture, which includes plant genera and species the varieties whereof are protected under this Law.
6. Plant taxon shall mean any taxonomic grouping of plants (class, rank, family, genus, species, subspecies, variety, form).
7. Propagating material shall mean a seed, an entire plant or a vegetative part of a plant (grafts, stocks, shoots, parts of rootstocks, tubers, etc.) intended for the propagation of plants of a certain variety.
8. Genotype shall mean the sum of hereditary factors of an organism.
9. Licensing agreement shall mean a written agreement concluded by the breeder with natural or legal persons or branches set up in the Republic of Lithuania by enterprises established in Member States of the European Union and other countries of the European Economic Area whereby these persons are granted the right to propagate and market the propagating material of the protected variety under agreed conditions within the defined territory.
10. Licence fee shall mean the fee payable under a licensing agreement.
11. Breeder shall mean:
1) one or several natural persons who bred or discovered and developed a new plant variety;
2) a legal person whose one or several employees, working under an employment contract or fulfilling an assigned task, bred or discovered and developed a new plant variety;
3) branches set up in the Republic of Lithuania by enterprises established in Member States of the European Union and other countries of the European Economic Area, which bred or discovered and developed a new plant variety;
4) a successor in title who has acquired property rights to the variety from the persons indicated in subparagraphs 1-3 of this paragraph.
12. Breeder’s remuneration shall mean the remuneration paid to the breeder by a farmer or another land user for the propagating material of the protected variety grown on one’s own holding and used for further reproduction or multiplication purposes on one’s own holding.
13. Protected variety of significance for the national economy shall mean a variety required for guaranteeing the supply of the propagating material possessing certain characteristics to the market.
14. Application for a plant variety right shall mean a written request for the granting of a plant variety right filed with the manager of the List of Protected Plant Varieties in the Republic of Lithuania.
15. Commonly known variety shall mean a variety which becomes a matter of common knowledge from the date of filing of the application in any country, leading to the granting of a plant variety right or to the entry of the said variety in an official list of varieties.
Article 3. Conditions for the Grant of Plant Variety Rights
Plant variety rights shall be granted to the breeder where the variety is established to comply with the requirements of novelty, distinctness, uniformity and stability and also designated by a denomination in accordance with the requirements laid down in Article 18 of this Law.
Article 4. Novelty
1. The variety shall be deemed to be new if, prior to the date of filing of the application for a plant variety right (hereinafter – application), propagating or harvested material of the variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed of to others, by the initiative or with the consent of the breeder, for purposes of exploitation of the variety:
1) in the Republic of Lithuania – earlier than one year before that date;
2) in the territory of another country – earlier than four years or, in the case of trees, vines or berry shrubs, earlier than six years before the said date.
2. The variety shall satisfy the condition of novelty in selling or otherwise transferring the right of disposal of the propagating or harvested material of the variety to other persons if:
1) damage has been caused to the breeder or his successor in title;
2) the breeder’s right has been transferred on the basis of a contractual relationship;
3) this is provided in an agreement whereby natural or legal persons or branches set up in the Republic of Lithuania by enterprises established in Member States of the European Union and other countries of the European Economic Area reproduce the propagating material of the relevant variety on behalf of the breeder, provided that the breeder preserves his property right to the propagating material, and the propagating material is not used in the production of propagating material of another variety;
4) this is provided in an agreement whereby natural or legal persons or branches set up in the Republic of Lithuania by enterprises established in Member States of the European Union and other countries of the European Economic Area conduct field trials or laboratory tests with a view to evaluating the variety;
5) this has been done for the purpose of implementing laws or administrative obligations, particularly in relation to biological safety or the entry of the variety in the National List of Plant Varieties;
6) the harvested material of the variety produced in the course of breeding the variety or carrying out the activities listed in subparagraphs 3-5 of this paragraph is sold or otherwise disposed of as a by-product or surplus product without making reference to the variety.
Article 5. Distinctness
1. The variety shall be deemed to be distinct if it is clearly distinguishable by reference to the expression of at least one of its characteristics from any other variety whose existence is a matter of common knowledge at the time of filing of the application.
2. Any other variety shall be deemed to be a matter of common knowledge from the date of filing of the application in any country, leading to the granting of a plant variety right or to the entry of the said variety in an official list of varieties.
Article 6. Uniformity
The variety shall be deemed to be uniform if, subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is uniform in its relevant characteristics.
Article 7. Stability
The variety shall be deemed to be stable if its relevant characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation or, in the case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each such cycle.
Article 8. List of Protected Plant Varieties in the Republic of Lithuania
1. The List of Protected Plant Varieties in the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter – the List of Protected Varieties) shall be a list of plant varieties covered by plant variety rights in the Republic of Lithuania.
2. The List of Protected Varieties shall be comprised and administered by the manager of the List of Protected Varieties – the institution authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture.
CHAPTER TWO APPLICATION FOR THE GRANT OF A PLANT VARIETY RIGHT
Article 9. Filing of the Application
1. The breeder or his authorised representative (hereinafter – the applicant) wishing to be afforded protection for the variety bred or discovered and developed by him shall file an application for the grant of a plant variety right with the manager of the List of Protected Varieties.
2. The application shall contain a request for the grant of a plant variety right and other documents the list, form and procedure for filing whereof shall be established by the manager of the List of Protected Varieties.
3. A separate application shall be filed in respect of every variety. The request for the grant of a plant variety right and other related documents shall be filed in the Lithuanian or another language determined by the manager of the List of Protected Varieties. In this case, an official translation into the Lithuanian language shall be submitted.
4. Where several natural or legal persons bred or discovered and developed the variety jointly, one application shall be filed indicating the share of each owner. Foreign natural or legal persons shall file their applications through their authorised representative in the Republic of Lithuania.
5. The filing of an application in a Member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants or in a Member State of the European Union shall not restrict the applicant’s right to file an application to the manager of the List of Protected Varieties without waiting for a reply concerning the grant of a plant variety right.
6. The date of filing of the application shall be the date on which the manager of the List of Protected Varieties received and registered an application for the grant of a plant variety right which complies with the requirements laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 10. Right of Priority of an Application
1. The right of priority of an application shall be determined by the date of filing of the application.
2. The applicant shall have the right to file his first application with the competent authority of any Member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants or any Member State of the European Union. If, prior to filing an application with the manager of the List of Protected Varieties in Lithuania, the applicant has already applied for the grant of a plant variety right for the same variety in any Member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants or in any Member State of the European Union, the right of priority of the application may, at the applicant’s request, be determined by the date of filing of the first application. In this case the application must be filed with the manager of the List of Protected Varieties within 12 months from the date of filing of the first application. The day of filing of the application shall not be included in the latter period.
3. In order to benefit from the right of priority of the application in the case referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the applicant shall, within a period of three months from the date of filing of the subsequent application with the manager of the List of Protected Varieties, submit a copy of the first application certified by the foreign competent authority with which that application was filed. The manager of the List of Protected Varieties may request the applicant to furnish additional documents or other evidence that the variety which is the subject matter of both applications is the same.
4. The breeder shall be allowed a period of two years after the expiration of the period of priority specified in paragraph 2 of this Article or, where the first application is rejected or withdrawn, the period set by the manager of the List of Protected Varieties after such rejection or withdrawal, in which to furnish, in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Law, to the manager of the List of Protected Varieties with which he has filed the subsequent application, any necessary documents or material required for the purpose of the examination under Articles 11, 12, and 13 of this Law.
5. Events, occurring within the period provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article, such as the filing of another application for protection for the same variety, the publication of the application or the use of the variety that is the subject of the first application, shall not give the manager of the List of Protected Varieties a ground for rejecting the subsequent application. Such events shall also not give rise to any third-party right.
6. Where the breeder lodges an appeal in accordance with the procedure established in Article 36 of this Law against the applicant who was not entitled to a plant variety right and the manager of the List of Protected Varieties takes a decision to refuse protection for the variety on these grounds, the breeder shall have the right to require that the date of the refused application be deemed to be the date of his application. In this case, the breeder must file an application with the manager of the List of Protected Varieties within one month of the date of the decision to refuse the grant of a plant variety right.
CHAPTER THREE EXAMINATION OF THE APPLICATION AND TECHNICAL EXAMINATION OF THE VARIETY
Article 11. Preliminary Examination of the Application
1. The manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall carry out the preliminary examination of the application within one month from the date of filing of the application. The examination shall determine the priority of the application, as well as verify whether the application complies with the requirements set by the manager of the List of Protected Varieties.
2. Having established within one month that the submitted documents do not comply with the set requirements, the manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall notify the applicant thereof in writing. If the applicant corrects the identified deficiencies within the time limit specified by the manager of the List of Protected Varieties, the date of filing of the application shall be the date on which the manager of the List of Protected Varieties received and registered the application for the grant of a plant variety right. If the deficiencies are not corrected, the application shall be deemed not to have been filed and the applicant shall be notified thereof in writing.
3. If the application complies with the set requirements, the manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall notify the applicant thereof in writing.
Article 12. Substantive Examination of the Application
1. The manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall carry out the substantive examination of the application within the period set by the manager of the List of Protected Varieties, which is computed from the data of filing of the application.
2. The substantive examination shall verify whether the variety indicated in the application for the grant of a plant variety right is new, whether the applicant is entitled to file this application and whether the proposed variety denomination complies with the requirements laid down in Article 18 of this Law.
3. Having established that the variety does not comply with the requirements laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article, the manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall notify the applicant thereof in writing. Should the applicant fail to correct the deficiencies that may have been identified, the manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall take a decision to reject the application and shall notify the applicant thereof in writing.
Article 13. Technical Examination of the Variety
1. Following the preliminary and substantive examinations of the application, technical examination of the variety shall be carried out. It shall be verified through tests whether the variety complies with the conditions of distinctness, uniformity and stability.
2. By decision of the manager of the List of Protected Varieties, the technical examination of the variety shall also be deemed to have been carried out if the distinctness, uniformity and stability of the variety have been assessed and recognised by the competent authority of any other country and the applicant has furnished all the documents supporting this fact as well as the consent of the relevant authority to use the findings of its technical examination of the variety.
Article 14. Arrangement of the Technical Examination of the Variety and Examination Results
1. Responsibility for the technical examination of a variety shall rest with the manager of the List of Protected Varieties. The manager of the List of Protected Varieties may conduct the technical examination of the variety itself or avail itself of the services of national or foreign competent bodies.
2. The applicant shall pay a fee for the technical examination of the variety to the manager of the List of Protected Varieties or the national or foreign competent body that has conducted this technical examination, in the amounts fixed by them.
3. If the results of the technical examination of the variety comply with the requirements of distinctness, uniformity and stability laid down by this Law and the applicant has paid the fee for the technical examination of the variety in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article, the manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall compile an official description of the variety and take a reference sample of the propagating material of the variety for keeping.
4. Where it is established that the variety does not comply with the requirements referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and/or the applicant has not paid the fee for the technical examination of the variety, the manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall take a decision to reject the application and shall notify the applicant thereof in writing.
5. The manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall keep the documents relating to the examination of the application and the technical examination of the variety for the entire duration of the plant variety right.
Article 15. Provisional Protection
The breeder’s interests shall also be protected during the period from the date of filing of the application for the grant of a plant variety right to the grant of that right. During the period of such provisional protection, the breeder shall be entitled to claim damages from any person who has infringed his rights specified in Article 26 of this Law.
Article 16. Publication of Information
The manager of the List of Protected Varieties shall publish information relating to:
1) received, withdrawn and rejected applications;
2) variety denominations proposed in the applications;
3) varieties covered by the plant variety right, their breeders and/or authorised representatives of the breeders;