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What it is

How Spain protects new plant varieties and their breeders

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 27 July 1999. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill on the legal regime for the protection of plant varieties.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000180· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law creates a system to protect anyone who breeds or discovers a new plant variety. A plant variety title is granted, giving its holder exclusive rights over that variety.
  2. To get the title, the variety must be new, distinct, homogeneous and stable. Novelty is lost if the material was sold earlier: one year if sold in Spain, four years abroad, and six for trees and vines.
  3. The holder has exclusive rights to produce, sell, import or export the variety's material, and authorization is needed for those acts. Protection lasts 25 years, or 30 for vines and trees.
  4. The law recognizes the so-called farmer's exception: farmers may use the harvest from protected varieties on their own farms to sow again. Small farmers pay nothing and other farmers pay a fee lower than a license price.
  5. The right does not cover private non-commercial acts, experimental acts or the creation of new varieties. Mandatory licenses can also be granted for public interest reasons, with compensation for the holder.
  6. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food manages the system, with an Official Register of Protected Varieties and a Commission for the Protection of Plant Varieties. Violations are punished with fines from 100,000 to 1,500,000 pesetas depending on severity.

Words worth knowing

Obtentor (breeder)
The person who bred or discovered and developed a plant variety, or whoever inherits or receives those rights.
Título de obtención vegetal (plant variety title)
An official document recognizing protection for a new plant variety and giving its holder exclusive rights over it.
Variedad esencialmente derivada (essentially derived variety)
A variety that comes mainly from another protected variety and keeps its essential traits, so it is also covered by the protection.
Licencia obligatoria (mandatory license)
An authorization the government can grant to a third party to exploit a protected variety, paying the holder, when public interest requires it.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced27 July 1999Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted27 July 1999The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments29 July 1999Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee20 October 1999A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate18 November 1999The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE17 December 1999It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 10 official steps on a timeline
Jul 1999Aug 1999Sept 1999Oct 1999Nov 199911. 27 July 1999: Comisión de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca Publicación desde 27/07/1999 hasta 29/07/199922. 27 July 1999: Presentación33. 27 July 1999: Calificación44. 29 July 1999: Comisión de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca Enmiendas desde 29/07/1999 hasta 20/10/199955. 18 October 1999: Comisión de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca Mesa - Calificación desde 18/10/1999 hasta 20/10/199966. 20 October 1999: Comisión de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca Debate de totalidad desde 20/10/1999 hasta 11/11/199977. 11 November 1999: Comisión de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca Informe desde 11/11/1999 hasta 17/11/199988. 17 November 1999: Comisión de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 17/11/1999 hasta 18/11/199999. 18 November 1999: Senado desde 18/11/1999 hasta 17/12/19991010. 17 December 1999: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 17/12/1999 hasta 04/04/2000

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

The same initiative in the other chamber:

Published in the BOE: Act 3/2000, of January 7, on the legal regime for the protection of plant varieties.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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