Guidelines on the registration of transferring rights for protected plant varieties in Vietnam

Guidelines on the registration of transferring rights for protected plant varieties in Vietnam​ (Image from Internet)

1. Guidelines on the registration of transferring rights for protected plant varieties in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 19 of Decree 79/2023/ND-CP, guidelines on the registration of transferring rights for protected plant varieties in Vietnam are as follows:

- After concluding the contract for the transfer of rights for plant varieties according to legal regulations, the application for registration of transfer is submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam. The application includes:

+ Transfer registration declaration form as stipulated in Form No. 18 issued together with Decree 79/2023/ND-CP;

+ A certified copy of the contract for the transfer of ownership of the plant variety. The content of the contract must be in Vietnamese or translated into Vietnamese, with each page signed by the parties or bearing a consecutive seal;

+ The original certificate of protection of the plant variety being transferred;

+ The original document of consent from the co-owners of the plant variety in cases where the plant variety is jointly owned.

- Within 30 days from receiving the complete application, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assesses the application.

+ If the application is valid, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issues a written notice of the transfer of the ownership certificate of the plant variety, records the transferee as the owner of the certificate, updates the National Register, issues the certificate of plant variety protection according to updated information of the transfer, and publishes it on the Ministry's electronic portal.

+ If the application is invalid, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development provides a written response to the organization or individual, stating the reasons.

2. Mandatory cases for transfer of usage rights of protected plant varieties in Vietnam

Mandatory cases for transfer of usage rights of protected plant varieties are stipulated under Article 21 of Decree 79/2023/ND-CP:

- Mandatory transfer cases include:

+ The use of plant varieties for public, non-commercial purposes, serving national defense, security, food security, and nutrition for the people or addressing urgent social needs such as natural disasters, epidemics, wars, large-scale environmental pollution;

+ When an individual or organization capable of using the plant variety cannot reach an agreement with the entity holding exclusive rights to use the plant variety on signing a usage contract, despite efforts to negotiate for 12 months (excluding force majeure cases) with reasonable prices and commercial conditions;

+ When the entity holding exclusive rights to use the plant variety is considered to engage in prohibited anti-competitive practices according to competition law.

- In cases of using plant varieties as specified in point a, paragraph 1 of Article 21 Decree 79/2023/ND-CP, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development publicly announces the need for varieties, including: name of the plant variety, purpose, quantity required, scope, time to meet the transfer purpose, and application submission deadline for organizations and individuals needing to register for the use of the plant variety.

3. Regulations on compensation for mandatory transfer of usage rights of plant varieties in Vietnam

Under Article 22 of Decree 79/2023/ND-CP, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall hire a valuation enterprise to conduct a valuation of the plant varieties subject to mandatory transfer of usage rights according to current laws. The valuation results serve as one of the bases for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to determine the compensation framework for the plant varieties subject to mandatory transfer of usage rights.

In cases where a valuation enterprise cannot be hired, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development establishes a Valuation Council to determine the compensation framework for plant varieties subject to mandatory transfer of usage rights.

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