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PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION No. 82
(b) the employer or person referred to in paragraph (a), if that person is an employee whose
duties are such that the variety was bred, or discovered and developed, in the performance of
such duties; or
(c) the successor in title of the person referred to in
paragraph (a) or the employer referred to in paragraph (b);
“convention country” means a country, including any
colony, protectorate or territory subject to the authority or under the suzerainty of any other country and
any territory over which a mandate or trusteeship is
exercised, which has signed and ratified, accepted or
approved or has acceded to the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants;
“denomination” in relation to a variety in respect of
which a plant breeder’s right has been granted, means
the generic name for the variety;

“registrar” means the officer designated as Registrar
of Plant Breeders’ Rights in terms of section 3;
“regulation” means a regulation made under this Act;
“sell” includes agree to sell, or to offer, advertise,
keep, expose, transmit, send, convey or deliver for
sale, or to exchange for to dispose of to any person in
any manner for a consideration; and “sold” and “sale”
have corresponding meanings;
“this Act” includes the regulations;
“variety” means any plant grouping within a single
botanical taxon of the lowest known classification,
which grouping, irrespective of whether or not the
conditions for the grant of a plant breeder’s right are
fully met, can be(a) defined by the expression of the characteristics
resulting from a given genotype or combination
of genotypes;

“department” means the Department of Agriculture;
“essential characteristics” means the essential characteristics of a variety of a plant as expressed by
means of a test or trial or any other acknowledged
means of determining the characteristics of a variety
of a plant;

(b) distinguished from any other plant grouping by
the expression of at least one of the said characteristics; and
(c) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability
for being propagated unchanged.

“holder” in relation to a plant breeder’s right, means
the person to whom such a right has been granted in
terms of section 20, or who, according to an entry in
the register, is the owner of such a right;

Application of Act

“kind of plant” means all related genera, species and
subspecies of a plant which are known by the same
common name;

(1) This Act shall apply in relation to every variety of
any prescribed kind of plant if it is new, distinct. uniform
and stable.

“mark” means a mark as defined in section 2 of the
Trade Marks Act, 1963 (Act No. 62 of 1963);

(2) A variety referred to in subsection (1) shall be
deemed to be-

“Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture;
“officer” means an officer or an employee as defined
in section 1 of the Public Service Act, 1957 (Act
No. 54 of 1957);

Section 2

(a) new if propagating material or harvested material
thereof has not been sold or otherwise disposed
of by, or with the consent of, the breeder for purposes of exploitation of the variety(i) in the Republic, not more than one year;
and

“plant breeder’s right” means a plant breeder’s right
granted in terms of section 20;

(ii) in a convention country or an agreement
country, in the case of

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation;
“propagating material” means any material of a plant
that can be used for the propagation of a plant;

(aa) varieties of vines and trees, not more
than six years; or

“protected variety” means a variety of a plant in respect of which a plant breeder’s right has been
granted;

(bb) other varieties not more than four years,

“register” means the register kept in terms of section 4;

prior to the date of filing of the application for a
plant breeder's right;
(b) distinct if, at the date of filing of the application
for a plant breeder’s right, it is clearly distin-

SOUTH AFRICA

Act - page 2

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