PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS

Clients can protect their new varieties of plants by filing an application pursuant to the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act. To obtain legal protection for your plant variety, it must meet the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s requirements of distinctness, uniformity, and stability.

Plant Breeders’ Rights will only exist if the owner files an application and receives a registration. The term of exclusive protection is up to 25 years for tree and vine varieties and up to 20 years for all other varieties of plants. Owners of these registrations may sell or licence the rights of the new plant variety to others.

Among other plant varieties, Method Law has applied for the protection of cannabis plant breeders’ rights.

More information on Plant Breeders Rights is available through the Plant Breeders’ Rights Office of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: https://www.inspection.gc.ca/plant-health/plant-breeders-rights/eng/1299169386050/1299169455265

Please note that you may not claim exclusive use of the denomination (i.e., name) of your plant variety as a trademark. For information about what you are permitted to trademark, please go to our Trademarks page HERE.

For further information or assistance, please contact us by phone (416) 847-0054 or by email at mail@methodlaw.ca.

The copyright in the above photograph is the exclusive property of Roto-Gro Inc., and used with permission.  All intellectual property rights in the rotational hydroponic garden system are the exclusive property of Roto-Gro Inc.