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4.- where the annual fee laid down in Article 47 of this Law has not been paid within the
prescribed time limits.
Article 34
Cancellation shall be pronounced by an order of the Minister responsible for agriculture
after hearing the person concerned and on the basis of a reasoned opinion from the Technical
Committee for Seed, Seedlings and New Plant Varieties. The order shall be published in the
Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic.
The holder of the new plant variety certificate may file an appeal against the cancellation
order within a period of one month as from the date of its publication.
To that end, he shall be required to support his appeal, where appropriate, with the results
of an expert examination carried out by a reference laboratory within a period of one month as
from filing of the appeal.
In the event of the expert opinion being favorable to the petitioner, the latter shall recover
all his rights in the plant variety that is the subject matter of the cancellation order.
A list of the reference laboratories shall be laid down by an order of the Minister
responsible for agriculture.
Article 35
The holder of a new plant variety certificate may relinquish, at any time, all or a part only
of his rights deriving from the plant variety that is the subject matter of the new plant variety
certificate.
Relinquishment shall be effected by means of a written declaration to be transmitted to the
competent authority.
However, relinquishment concerning a certificate encumbered with third party rights may
not be accepted unless accepted by the holders of the rights concerned.
CHAPTER IV
PROTECTION OF BREEDERS’ RIGHTS
Article 36
Any violation of the rights of a holder of a new plant variety certificate shall be qualified
as infringement liable to sanctions in accordance with the applicable legislation and shall further
imply the civil liability of the offender.
However, such violation may not be considered as such unless it has been committed
knowingly.
Thus, the use of the protected variety for basic variation for the breeding of a new variety
shall not be deemed a violation.