General Information
on the Plant Breeders' Rights Act and the Seeds Act (as
it pertains to seed sales)
The following FAQs are
intended to clarify how the Plant Breeders'
Rights Act and the Seeds Act impact the
sale and transfer of seed.
What is the
basic difference between the Plant Breeders'
Rights Act and the Seeds Act? The Plant Breeders' Rights Act is
intended to provide companies and institutions that
invest in plant breeding with a mechanism by which
they receive a fair return (i.e. royalties) for
their investment in variety development. The
Seeds Act pertains to issues such as the use of
variety name, grading factors and the pedigreed seed
system.
Plant Breeders'
Rights Act
Are all
varieties protected under the Act? No. Variety developers or owners decide whether
or not they will apply for plant breeders' rights.
For information on plant breeders' rights status,
contact the Plant Breeders' Rights Office at (613)
221-7522. In addition, a complete listing of plant
breeders' rights status for all crop types can be
found on the following website at
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/pbrpov/pbrpove.shtml.
How are plant
breeders compensated? Sale, trade or any other transfer of seed for
propagation is prohibited without the written
permission of the breeder or their agent, as well as
payment of a royalty.
Can farmers save
seed for their own use on their own farm? The Plant Breeders' Rights Act provides
producers the opportunity to save some grain as seed
for their own replanting purposes.
Can producers
sell or trade seed as common grade without meeting
the Act's requirements (permission and royalty)? No. Producers cannot sell or trade seed of a
protected variety without meeting the Plant
Breeders' Rights Act requirements, even if it is
common grade.
If grain is
several generations past the pedigreed system, and
is intended to be sold as ‘uncleaned' (not meeting
even common grade requirements), can producers sell
or trade seed without paying royalties? No they may not.
Who enforces the
Plant Breeders' Rights Act? Although the Act is administered by the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), rights conveyed under
the Act are enforced privately by the industry. A
group of companies have formed the Canadian Plant
Technology Agency (CPTA), whose mandate is to
educate and help enforce plant breeders' rights of
member companies. The CPTA can be contacted at
(306) 975-9413.
Seeds Act -
pertaining to common grade or uncleaned
Can producers
sell, trade or barter seed using the variety name? No they may not. Variety names for seed can
only be used for pedigreed seed classes.
Can the seller
use a variation of the variety name, such as AC
Barry instead of AC Barrie? No they may not.
Can the seller
say "grown from variety XYZ"? No they may not.
Can the seller
use variety descriptors, such as strong gluten durum
or solid stem spring wheat? Yes they may.
If it is sold as
common grade, does it have to meet certain grading
requirements? Yes, there are common grade requirements.
Grading factors (tables) for various crops can be
obtained from the CFIA. These grade standards are
established under the Seeds Act and are not
the same as those used by the Canadian Grain
Commission.
Can anybody
grade to common grade? For large seeded crop kinds, the seller of the
seed can test the seed (using a recognized standard
method). For the smaller seeded crop kinds (canola
and forage seed), the testing must be done by an
accredited lab. In both cases, the seed must meet
the standard for the grade table under which it
falls, and be appropriately labeled.
Does the seller
need to state the germination level, or can they
simply state, for example, that it is "high
germination"? The germination level does not need to be
specified on the tag or invoice, but the seed lot
must meet the grading requirement. The buyer can
ask for germination test results within one year of
purchasing the seed. The seller must provide this
information within 30 days of receiving the request.
Is there a time
limit between the date of the germination test and
the date of sale of the seed? There is no expiry date on the certificate of
analysis, but the seller must ensure that the
grading requirements are met at the time of sale.
Can seed be sold
ungraded? Yes, seed can be sold as "uncleaned". In this
category, germination, purity, weed seed count, and
any other grading factors are not considered.
Documentation accompanying the shipment should show
that the seed is ungraded and is being sold for the
purpose of conditioning.
For further
information, contact:
Tanya Staffen,
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, (306) 975-4869,
or
