Protection of New Plant Varieties Act (Act No. 16 of 2000). Country/Territory Belize Document type Legislation Date 2000 Source FAO, FAOLEX Original source Laws of Belize Revised Edition 2000, CAP. 255. Long titleAn Act to provide for the protection of new varieties of plants and for matters related thereto. Subject Cultivated plants Keyword Basic legislation Plant production Plant variety Planting material/seeds Breeders' rights/farmers' rights Institution Legal proceedings/administrative proceedings Intellectual property rights/patents Geographical area Americas, Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Small Island Developing States Entry into force notes This Act shall come into force as the Minister may by Order published in the Official Gazette appoint (9 July 2001). Abstract This Act provides for the granting and protection of breeder's rights and for related matters such as administration, assignment and transfer of rights, invalidation and forfeiture of rights, denomination of varieties, appeals and legal proceedings, licence contracts, etc. The Companies and Intellectual Property Office established under the Patents Act of 2000 is nominated as the authority responsible for the administration of this Act. The Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property shall maintain the Register of Plant Breeder's Rights in which the information listed in the second comma of section 3 shall be entered. Sections 5 to 9 establish criteria for the granting of a Plant Breeder's right regarding novelty, distinctness, homogeneity, and stability. Sections 10 to 16 provide for application for a Plant Breeder's Right and regulate matters such as who is entitled to apply, priority, joint applications, assignment of application, etc. The scope of a Plant breeder's Right is defined in section 17, whereas sections 18 and 19 place limits on its extension. Sections 20 and 21 concern protection of a PBR in time. Section 20 requires a holder of a PBR to provide the Registrar with propagating materials for which a PBR is granted throughout the period in which the right is exercisable. Periods of protection are specified in section 21. Sections 23 to 27 contain rules relative to (procedures) of termination, invalidation and forfeiture of PBR's. Sections 28 to 31 concern formal requirements for application and sections 32 to 36 provide for matters relative to variety denominations. Applications shall be examined by the Registrar in accordance with sections 37 to 40 and opposition can be launched in accordance with section 41. Subsequent provisions (sects. 42- 45) regulate proceedings of concerning the assignment of an application and appeals and enforcement proceedings. The last part of this Act provides for contracts by which the holder of a PBR may grant licences to others relative to rights provided for under this Act and regulation making powers of the Minister. (54 sections divided into 15 Parts) Full text English References - Legislation Implemented by Protection of New Plant Varieties Regulations (S.I. No. 116 of 2001). Legislation | Belize | 2001 Keyword: Plant production, Plant variety, Planting material/seeds, Breeders' rights/farmers' rights, Institution, Legal proceedings/administrative proceedings, Intellectual property rights/patents Source: FAO, FAOLEX