Plant Variety Rights + Plant Breeders Rights

Following passing brand new laws there are now two ways for applying for Plant Variety Patents in Iran.

The alternative procedure to file such applications in Iran and protect plant or seed varieties in Iran is as follows:

The applicant can submit an official letter to the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture (along with a copy of a signed power of attorney) containing the following information:

• name, occupation, nationality, and residential address of the applicant
• suggested name of the plant variety
• official description indicating the distinct specifications of the plant variety

The Ministry will then review the information provided and the particulars of the plant variety of interest and will then be able to assess whether the plant variety application can be filed at this stage in Iran. The Ministry will evaluate whether conducting a DUS test for the variety in question (a test for evaluating whether seed of such variety along with parental material conform to the criteria of Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability) is possible at this stage.

Having said that, it is important to note this is a newly launched system in Iran and things have moved rather slowly in this regard since the passing of the law. We therefore advise caution in applying for such registrations on the following grounds:

• Plant variety registration is still new in Iran and to Iranian Ministry of Agriculture, the body that handles these applications.
• Priority in plant variety registration is currently given to the varieties of crops which are considered to be the most common in Iran such as apple, etc.
• Registration can take up to a minimum of 2 years and can be longer and protection is not extended until the official certificate of registration is granted.
• In case of infringement, it is not known how effective and well versed the courts will be in deciding such matter, especially when the entire concept of plant or seed variety protection is new in Iran.

Therefore, all those seeking to apply for the protection of plant or seed variety in Iran are strongly recommended that they, instead, stick to applying for a patent registration in Iran. That was what we did by filing either a Paris Convention patent application (also known as Priority Patent Application) or a patent of importation.

A Priority Patent Application/ Convention Patent Application can be filed if the same patent application has been filed in a Paris Convention member country and the application is not more than 12 month. Alternatively, an application for patent of importation can be lodged where it is required that the same patent is already registered in another jurisdiction outside Iran (not necessarily in a Paris Convention member country).

Patent applications are both smooth and can be comparatively a safer bet in terms of protection against infringement, as courts are far more familiar with patent cases than plant or seed variety infringement cases. Also, in most cases and under normal circumstances, the time period for the registration of a patent could be less as compared to plant or seed varieties' registration.