National listing and plant breeders’ rights: revision of fees to recover full costs
Seeking views on a proposal to increase the fees for national listing and plant breeders’ rights.
We are consulting on a proposal to increase the fees for national listing and plant breeders’ rights. The aim is to recover the full cost from businesses using the services and to remove the cost to the taxpayer.
The consultation will be of interest mainly to companies involved in breeding and marketing new varieties of plants and to their customers, although comments are welcomed from other interested sectors and the public.
New varieties of agricultural and horticultural crops must be added to the National Lists before they can be commercially exploited, guaranteeing the identity of marketed plant varieties. If plant breeders’ rights are held for a variety, anyone wanting to market or multiply its seed must get permission from the rights holder, enabling the collection of royalties, and protecting the intellectual property rights of plant breeders.