Digital Transformation in Plant Breeders' Rights: UPOV PRISMA
Agricultural innovation and plant breeding are key activities for meeting nutritional needs of World's population, and for providing improved industrial plants as well as ornamentals. In parallel, protecting the hard work and investments made in these areas has become equally important.
In Türkiye, the legislation on this protection is as follows; first of all, the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) Convention, which forms the basis of the PBR (Plant Breeders' Rights) system, was adopted in 1991. Subsequently, on 08.01.2004, "Law No. 5042 on Breeders' Rights to New Plant Varieties", "Regulation on the Protection of Breeders' Rights to New Plant Varieties" and "Regulation on the Implementation Principles of Farmer Exception" entered into force respectively.
Within the scope of all these regulations, procedures such as applications, examinations and announcements are carried out by the General Directorate of Crop Production, Department of Seed Production, while the distinctness, uniformity and stability tests (DUS) related to the protection of the plant variety are carried out by the Central Directorate of Seed Registration and Certification.
For a long time, applications for Breeders' Rights were made in the form of PHYSICAL APPLICATIONS to the General Directorate of Crop Production, Department of Seed Production. However, within the framework of the adaptation of the agricultural sector to digital transformation, Türkiye joined the UPOV PRISMA (Electronic Application Form Project of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) system in 2017 and it has recently become possible to make electronic applications in addition to physical applications.
ELECTRONIC FILING UTILITY is advantageous for applicants in many ways. For example, the reduction in paperwork, thanks to the faster processing of transactions that can normally take hours with a physical application, motivates applicants more to protect their rights and make new applications. Again, the UPOV PRISMA system's compliance with international guidelines and international standards within the scope of cooperation with WIPO increases the international credibility of the application.
In this respect, the introduction of the UPOV PRISMA system in Türkiye is an important step forward in the field of plant varieties and agricultural innovation. At INVOKAT, we are committed to promoting innovation and global cooperation in the agricultural sector. This is why we are committed to utilizing state of the art tools and technologies in this field, effectively utilizing the UPOV PRISMA system in our plant breeder applications and providing solutions tailored to the needs of our clients.
For more information, please contact info@invokat.com.
04.04.2024