Regulatory Framework of Plant Variety Protection for Modernized Plant Breeding Approaches

Seed regulation is being governed by seed legislation, whereas the legal framework for protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) on plant varieties is provided by the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) law. Many countries consider plant varieties as intellectual property and provide legal protection for them. Protection is offered to plant varieties which are developed through conventional as well as modern breeding methodologies, viz. marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, and genome editing. This book chapter summarizes genesis of IPR; PVP; Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR); International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV)/World Trade Organization (WTO) guidelines; Genetic Use Restriction Treaty (GURT); distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) criteria; testing procedure; national and international laws in IPR; modern plant breeding technologies (MPBT) alternative to genetically modified organisms (GMO); gene patenting in rice; and salient features of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (PPVFRA).