TITLE IV
Variety Denomination
SECTION 9. Variety Denomination. – The variety shall be designated by a denomination which shall be its generic description. In particular, it must be different from any denomination that designates an existing variety of the same plant species or closely related species.
SECTION 10. Right of Priority over Denomination. – The use of a denomination shall not be granted to a breeder if such denomination has already been registered to another breeder or is being used by a third party in relation to the sale or offering for sale of a particular variety prior to the filing date or priority date of an application for a Certificate of Plant Variety Protection. In case two (2) or more breeders/applicants apply for the registration of the same denomination, the breeder/applicant who has the earliest filing date or priority date shall have the right to register the same to the exclusion of the other applicant/breeder(s).
SECTION 11. Figures as Denomination. – The denomination must enable the variety to be identified. It may not consist solely of figures except when it is an established practice for designating such a variety.
SECTION 12. Misleading Denomination. – No denomination shall be accepted if it is liable to mislead or to cause confusion concerning the characteristic value or identity of the variety or identity of the breeder.
SECTION 13. Refusal of Denomination. – If the denomination does not satisfy these requirements, its registration shall be refused and the breeder shall be required to propose another denomination within a prescribed period. The denomination shall be registered together with the grant of the breeder’s right.
SECTION 14. Denomination Used in an Application Previously Filed Abroad. – An application filed in this country, the subject matter of which is the same as that of an application previously filed abroad, shall use the same denomination as the latter. However, if such denomination does not conform to the provisions of this Title, the applicant/breeder shall be required to submit a new denomination.
SECTION 15. Obligation to Use Denomination. – Any person, who offers for sale or markets in the Philippines, propagating material of a variety protected, shall be obliged to use the denomination of that variety, even after the expiration of the breeder’s right therefor except when the rule of prior rights apply.
SECTION 16. Use of Marks. – When a protected variety is offered for sale or marketed, it may be associated with a trademark, trade name or other similar indication with a registered denomination. If such an indication is so associated, the denomination must nevertheless be easily recognizable.
TITLE V
Applicants to a Plant Variety Protection
SECTION 17. Entitlement. – Any breeder, with respect to the variety developed, may apply for a plant variety protection and obtain a Certificate of Plant Variety Protection upon compliance with the requirements of this Act.
SECTION 18. Co-ownership of the Right. – If two (2) or more persons contribute to the development of a new plant variety, all of them shall be named in the Certificate of Plant Variety Protection and shall be entitled to such rights as agreed upon in writing or in the absence thereof, the rights in proportion to their contribution in the development of plant variety.
SECTION 19. Employee-Employer Relationship. – In case an employee develops a plant variety in the course of his employment as a result of the performance of his regular duty, the plant variety protection shall belong to the employer, unless there is a written stipulation to the contrary.
SECTION 20. First to File Rule. – If two (2) or more persons develop a new plant variety separately and independently of each other, the Certificate of Plant Variety Protection shall belong to the person who files the application first. In case two (2) or more persons file an application for the same plant variety, the right shall be granted to the person who has the earliest filing date or priority date.
SECTION 21. Priority Date. – Any application for a Certificate of Plant Variety Protection previously filed by a breeder in another country, which by treaty, convention or law affords similar privileges to Filipino citizens, shall be considered as filed locally as of the date of filing of the foreign application: Provided, That:
a) The local application expressly claims priority;
b) It is filed within twelve (12) months from the filing date of the earliest foreign application; and
c) The applicant submits, within six (6) months from the filing of the local application, authenticated copies of documents which constitute the foreign application, samples or other evidence showing that the variety which is being applied for protection is the same variety which has been applied for protection in a foreign country.
SECTION 22. Foreign Nationals. – For purposes of this Act, a person shall be considered a national of a foreign country if he is a citizen of such country according to its laws, a natural person residing therein, or is a legal entity whose office is registered in such foreign country.
SECTION 23. National Treatment. – Any application filed locally for a Certificate of Plant Variety Protection previously granted to a breeder in another country, which by treaty, convention or law affords similar privileges to Filipino citizens, shall be issued a Certificate of Plant Variety Protection upon payment of dues and compliance to all the provisions of this Act. This Act shall also apply to the nationals of foreign countries that are members of intergovernmental organizations or party to any multilateral agreement or convention concerning the granting of intellectual property protection to plant varieties.
TITLE VI
Examination of the Application and Issuance of PVP Certificate
SECTION 24. Contents of the Application. – An application for a Certificate of Plant Variety Protection shall be filed in the manner and on the conditions prescribed in the regulations, and shall include:
a) Name of the applicant/breeder;
b) Address of the applicant/breeder in the Philippines;
c) Name of resident agent and address in the Philippines;
d) The description of the variety and particulars of the variety bred, including particulars of its characteristics;
e) The variety denomination;
f) Samples of propagating materials, which are the subject of the application; and
g) Any other particular required by the regulations.
SECTION 25. Right of the Applicant to File the Application. – If the applicant is not the actual breeder, he shall indicate in his application the basis for his right to file the application.
SECTION 26. Contents of the Description and Order of Presentation. – The Board shall issue rules and regulations stipulating the contents of the description and the order of presentation.
SECTION 27. Other Information Required. – The applicant shall be required by the Board to furnish information regarding any application filed by him in other countries including all pertinent documents relating thereto. If the applicant has successfully claimed priority according to this Act, he shall be given a period of two (2) years from the priority date to comply with the requirements of this Section.
SECTION 28. Manner of Conducting Tests. – The Board may carry out the necessary tests, cause the conduct of tests, or consider the results of other tests or trials that have already been done. For this purpose, the Board shall require the applicant to furnish all the necessary information, documents or materials within a period of time prescribed in the regulations.
SECTION 29. Filing Date. – For purposes of according a filing date, the Board shall consider, as a minimum requirement, all of the above enumerated items in Section 24 hereof.
SECTION 30. Publication of the Application. – After the Board has accorded a filing date, the application shall be published within sixty (60) days at the expense of the applicant in the Plant Variety Gazette hereunder described in Section 73. Prior to such publication, the application and all related documents shall not be made available to the public without the written consent of the applicant. After publication of the application, any person may inspect the application documents in a manner to be prescribed by the Board.
SECTION 31. Opposition to the Grant of Plant Variety Protection. – Any person who believes that the applicant is not entitled to the grant of the Certificate of Plant Variety Protection may file an opposition thereto within the period prescribed by the Board from the date of its publication and before the issuance of the Certificate of Plant Variety Protection.
Opposition to the application may be made on the following grounds:
a) that the person opposing the application is entitled to the breeder’s right as against the applicant;
b) that the variety is not registrable under this Act.
If the opposition is based on the conditions of Plant Variety Protection, such opposition shall be considered together with the examination of the application.
SECTION 32. Issuance of the Certificate. – When the Board has tested and examined the variety, and/or considered the supporting materials and literature pertinent thereto, it shall issue a Certificate of Plant Variety Protection. A notice of such issuance shall be published in the manner to be prescribed in the regulations at the expense of the holder.
SECTION 33. Term of Protection. – For trees and vines, the period of protection shall be twenty-five (25) years from the date of the grant of the Certificate of Plant Variety Protection and twenty (20) years from the said date for all other types of plants, unless declared void ab initio or cancelled otherwise, as provided under Sections 61 and 62, respectively of this Act.
SECTION 34. Annual Fees. – To maintain the validity of the Certificate of Plant Variety Protection, the holder shall pay an annual fee to be prescribed by the Board. Annual fees shall be paid starting from the fourth anniversary of the issuance of the certificate and every year thereafter within the first three (3) months of said years. The holder has the option to pay in advance this annual fee for a maximum of twenty (20) years.
The Certificate of Plant Variety Protection shall expire and cease to have force and effect upon the holder’s failure to pay the annual fees within the prescribed period. A notice of such cancellation shall be published in the Plant Variety Gazette one (1) year after the term of protection has expired. Before such publication, any holder who fails to pay the annual fees may request for a reinstatement of his certificate: Provided, That he settles his unpaid accounts including surcharges to be determined by the Board.
SECTION 35. Notice of Rejection. – Whenever an application is rejected, the Board shall immediately inform the applicant on the grounds therefor, and when applicable, identify and provide the documents used as the basis for rejection.
a) Reconsideration – Within two (2) months from the receipt of the rejection notice, the applicant may amend his application or traverse the finding of the Board. The Board, in turn, may reverse its initial finding or issue a final rejection within the same period.
b) Appeal from the Notice of Rejection – The decision of the Board is final except for anomalous circumstances involving the Board in which case the applicant may appeal it to the proper court.
