Trilochan Mohapatra, the Chairman of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority (PPVFRA), has urged seed producers in public and private sectors to register their varieties with the authority. “It is very important for them to register their varieties in order to get protection from future infringements,” Mohapatra, who was a former Secretary, the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), and former Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), said.
Addressing an awareness conference on intellectual property rights in the plant sector and their enforcement here on Friday, he said though the pace of registrations had gone up significantly over the past 15 months, there was much to be done considering the rich and varied varietal legacy of the country.
Call for self-regulation
“High-performing seed varieties, developed through intensive research, have significantly boosted agricultural production and economic growth since the mid-20th century. Plant breeding is costly and time-consuming, necessitating strong potential returns to sustain efforts,” he said.
“An effective plant variety protection system is essential to encourage the development of new varieties for societal benefit. Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in seeds aims to boost innovation by protecting inventors’ exclusive rights to their discoveries,” he said.
Giving an overview of the registration, Dinesh Agarwal, Registrar General of PPVFRA, called for self-regulation among the seed-producing companies. “We at the Authority will do what we are supposed to do. But we also expect the industry to regulate itself,” he said, hinting at the malpractices (IPR infringement by peers) that took place in the industry.
IPR enforcement
The Indian industry has called for the strict enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the seed sector. “A robust seed industry, backed by effective IPR enforcement, is crucial for addressing persisting challenges in agriculture and food security. Enforcing IPR in seeds is crucial for protecting innovation, attracting investment in research and development, enabling technology transfer and ensuring quality,” a seed industry official said.
“This approach will create a conducive environment for sector growth, benefiting farmers and consumers while driving economic development,” he said.
The conference was organised by the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) in association with the Government of Telangana and PPVFRA. “What is the intellectual property of seed and biotechnology, and how to identify it and how to register cases need to be understood by law enforcement authorities and judiciary at the district level,” Ram Kaundinya, Advisor, FSII, said.
“Only then can infringement of IP, stealing of parent seeds and illegal production of unapproved GM seeds be understood at the grassroots level,” he said.