The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (PPVFRA) marked the introduction of intellectual property protection in Indian agriculture. The act was enacted in 2001 following engaging debates on how India should incorporate intellectual property rights into its agriculture. These debates were sparked off by India’s admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995, which demanded compliance with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
At the time, India had two options: enforce a law that protected farming communities or accept the plant breeders’ rights given by the International Union for Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV Convention). The latter choice was discarded because UPOV’s current iteration, adopted in 1991, restrains farmers from reusing farm-saved seeds and exchanging them among themselves.
As a result, India established Farmers’ Rights within the PPVFRA. This move acknowledged farmers as plant breeders and allowed them to register their varieties; rewarded farmers involved in conserving genetic resources of landraces and wild relatives of economic plants; and protected farmers’ traditional practices of saving seeds from one harvest and using or sharing them with neighbouring farmers.
The PepsiCo Controversy
A significant challenge to the PPVFRA occurred when PepsiCo India initiated legal proceedings against Gujarat potato farmers for allegedly growing a potato variety registered under the act. In February 2011, PepsiCo applied for the registration of two hybrid potato varieties FL 1867 and FL 2027. By February 2016, both varieties were registered under PPVFRA for a 15-year-period.
PepsiCo promoted one of these varieties, FL 2027, under the trademark FC-5 and accused Gujarat farmers of illicitly cultivating it. However, according to the PPVFRA, farmers planting a registered variety is not an offence as long as they don’t sell ‘branded’ seeds.
The company argued that FC-5 was licensed to farmers on the buyback system, meaning the variety could have been distributed anywhere without violating the law. The variety was also registered as an ‘Extant Variety’, indicating it was widely known and available in India before its registration.
The International Union for Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV Convention)
The UPOV Convention is an intergovernmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. Adopted in Paris in 1961 and subsequently revised in 1972, 1978 and 1991, UPOV’s mission is to promote an effective system of plant variety protection to encourage the development of new plant varieties for societal benefit.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1961 | Adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants in Paris |
| 1972 | First revision of the UPOV Convention |
| 1978 | Second revision of the UPOV Convention |
| 1991 | Current version of the UPOV Convention |
UPOV provides breeders of new plant varieties with an intellectual property right: the breeder’s right. This right is provided by individual UPOV members and restricts propagation of the variety for commercial purposes without the breeder’s permission. Breeders under UPOV can be individuals, farmers, researchers, public institutes, or private companies. India, however, is not a member of the UPOV.
