About
What you should do
How long does it take
How much does it cost
Forms to complete
Who to contact
About plant breeders' rights
A plant breeders’ right is a form of intellectual property right granted to breeders of new plant varieties for protection of their varieties against exploitation without their permission.
If you breed a plant variety and would like to obtain financial reward for your efforts, you must register that variety with the Registrar for Plant Breeders' Rights. Once you have registered a plant variety, it becomes your intellectual property. Any individual breeder or breeding institution may apply for a plant breeder’s right. Foreign breeders can only apply through an agent residing in South Africa.
Plant breeders are only granted rights for kinds of plant that are declared in terms of the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 1976 (Act 15 of 1976). These are listed in Table 1 of the Regulations.
Requirements for the granting of plant breeders' rights
To be granted plant breeders’ rights, plant varieties must be new, distinct, uniform, stable (DUS) and have an acceptable denomination (variety name). A variety is considered:
- new if the propagating material (seed or cutting from a plant)
- of a variety has not been sold in South Africa for longer than one year
- of a variety of a tree or of a vine has not been commercialised in another country for more than six years, or in the case of any other plant for more than four years
- distinct if it is clearly distinguishable from any other variety of the same species
- uniform if the plants of a variety look similar and are sufficiently uniform in relevant characteristics
- stable if the plants of the particular variety still look like the original plants after repeated cultivation.
Duration of a plant breeder’s right
Once your variety is approved, you will be issued with a plant breeders’ right certificate. Plant breeders' rights are valid for 25 years for vines and trees, and for 20 years for all annual varieties, calculated from the date on which a certificate of registration is issued.
Please note that as the holder of a plant breeders’ right, you must protect your interests and ensure that the variety is not exploited illegally by any unauthorised person.
Provisional protection
You may apply to the Registrar of Plant Breeders' Rights for provisional protection of a variety until all tests are completed and you are granted plant breeders' rights. Provisional protection is recommended for crops where tests take more than one year to complete.
What are your obligations?
During the currency of your rights you must:
- maintain the variety and guarantee that the propagating material is always available
- pay the prescribed annual fees.
If you fail to do this, the Registrar may cancel your plant breeders’ rights.
What you should do
- Consult Table 1 of the Plant Breeders' Rights Act, 1976 (Act 15 of 1976) to establish whether the kind of plant is declared.
- If the kind of plant is not in the table, submit a request for declaration with a motivation in writing to the Registrar for Plant Breeders’ Rights.
- If the kind of plant is in the table, complete the application form with the following full detail:
- your particulars, including names, addresses and nationality
- written authorisation from the owner, if you have not bred, selected or developed the variety
- the proposed denomination, which must comply with Section 10 of the Act
- the country in which the variety was bred or discovered
- particulars of preceding applications in other countries for Plant Breeders' Rights or for inclusion in official variety lists in respect of the same plant, including dates of filing, application numbers, stages of prosecution, and dates of allowance and quantities used
- if propagating material and/or harvested material of the variety has already been offered for sale or has been marketed, details of the countries, dates and quantities under which this took place
- a completed technical questionnaire that clearly indicates with which other known varieties the new variety should be compared in order to determine the difference
- a power of attorney
- examination fees
- The dates and quantities of propagating material that you must submit are available on request from the Registrar.
How long does it take
The various crop types have different test conditions and the duration of a test can vary from a few days to a few weeks.
How much does it cost
Plant Breeders Rights Tariffs 2024/2025
Forms to complete
The Application for Plant Breeders' Rights and relevant technical questionnaires may be obtained from the office of the Registrar and are also available on the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development website.
Who to contact
Registrar: Plant Breeders’ Rights
Postal address: Directorate: Genetic Resources,
Private Bag X973,
Pretoria,
0001.
253 Harvest House,
30 Hamilton Street,
Arcadia,
Pretoria.
Noluthando Netnou Nkoana
Tel: +27 12 319 6183
Fax:+27 12 319 6385
E-mail: NoluthandoN@daff.gov.za
Plant Variety Registration Officer: Ornamental and Fruit crops
Marcini Govender
Tel: +27 12 319 6226
Fax: +27 12 319 6385
E-mail: MarciniG@daff.gov.za
Plant Variety Registration Officer: Agricultural and Vegetable crops
Elna de Bruyn (CJ)
Tel: 012 319 6096
Fax: 012 319 6385 /0866923788
E-mail: ElnaDB@daff.gov.za
2. DUS Evaluation centres:
Roodeplaat: Agricultural crops, vegetables and ornamental crops
Heléne Nel
Postal address: Division Variety Control,
Private Bag X11,
Gezina,
0031.
Tel: 083 230 4806 / 083 230 4791 / 082 656 3689/90/91/92
Fax: 083 235 9378
E-mail: HeleneN@daff.gov.za
Stellenbosch: Deciduous fruit, strawberries, grapes, tunnel vegetables and proteas
Robyn Hierse or Carensa Petzer
Division Variety Control,
Private Bag X5044,
Stellenbosch,
7599.
Tel: 021 809 1648 / 1650 / 1653 / 1655
Fax: 021 887 2264
E-mail: RobynH@daff.gov.za/CarensaP@daff.gov.za
Mbombela: Citrus and Subtropical fruits
Mark Schaffner
Division Variety Control,
Private bag X11208,
Mbombela,
1200.
Tel: 013 753 7099 / 7100
Fax: 013 752 3854
E-mail: MarkS@arc.agric.za
