ABSTRACT
The Malaysian Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 includes two alternative sets of conditions for granting plant breeders’ rights (PBR).1 First, the act sets out a more familiar set of conditions, found in many countries’ PBR laws, that mandate that, to be eligible for protection, varieties must be new, distinct, uniform and stable (Article 14(1)). A second, alternative set of conditions applies if the application for protection is for a variety that has been ‘bred, discovered and developed by a farmer, a local community or indigenous people.’ These varieties must be ‘new,’ ‘distinct’ and ‘identifiable’ to qualify for protection (Article 14(2)). The act did not come into force until 2007, and the regulations pursuant to the act came into force in 2008.
