China has made considerable strides forward in the protection of new varieties of forestry plants since 1999 when it joined the UPOV.

By the end of last November, forestry authorities had accepted a total of 298 applications for recognition of new varieties of forestry plants, of which 64, or 22 per cent of the total, were from overseas.

To date, 68 foreign varieties have passed the State Forestry Administration's (SFA) examination and had their variety rights granted.

Today, China's annual number of applications from the forestry sectors ranks fifth in the world.

SFA has given the greenlight to five sub-testing centres and two laboratories for identifying whether or not new varieties of plants are distinct, uniform and stable (DUS), with several more professional centres ready to be set up across the country for the purpose.

"SFA has, for the first time, budgeted 15 million yuan (US$1.8 million) for the construction of such special infrastructure," Zhou Jianren, an official for SFA's Office of Protection of New Varieties of Plants, said.

"Field DUS testing for China's key genera and species of plants like peony, China rose, Christmas flower and apricot (a deciduous Asian tree) will also be launched soon to perfect a network for DUS testing of the forestry sector," he said.

In 2004 alone, 2.5 million yuan (US$301,204) was earmarked for the initiation of such a testing system.

1991 Act challenges

"We have a long way to go in the years ahead with increasing pressure facing us in this field," Li Dongsheng, head of the office, conceded.

An inter-governmental organization, UPOV was established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. Adopted in 1961, it has been revised three times since, in 1972, 1978 and 1991.

Aimed at protecting new varieties of plants as an intellectual property right, the convention encourages its 58 members to use new varieties of plants to benefit economies.

In 1999, China officially signed up to UPOV.

Since then, some 115 genera and species of new varieties of plants have received protection in line with the 1978 Act. Of them, 74 species and genera, or 64 per cent of the total are forestry specimens and include trees, trees bred for non-timber, ornamental flowers as well as bamboo and rattan.

But, the proportion of overseas new varieties accepted by China is much lower compared to other UPOV members in many developing countries.

The UPOV has urged China to be bound by its 1991 convention to protect the world's newest varieties of plants and further expand international co-operation in the field.

So far, China is only bound by the 1978 Act, which requires only a minimum of 24 plant genera and species to be protected in a period of eight years.

The 1991 Act requires new members to grant protection for all new plant genera and species within a decade.

One of the most critical challenges facing China is that the country cannot introduce the newest varieties of plants from other members of UPOV if the country stays outside the 1991 Act of the convention, experts say.

"In the years ahead, the so-called new varieties of plants China gets from abroad will be actually outdated ones if we do not step into the 1991 Act," Zhou warned.

However, "we cannot set a clear timetable to be bound by the latest act as our protection began much later than other members of UPOV and we have to strengthen existing structures to meet the new criteria set by the last UPOV act," he said.

Experts say that China is not properly prepared to meet the terms of the later Act.

But joining will enable it to further improve co-operation with other members of the UPOV, introduce more updated new varieties of forestry plants from abroad and address concerns over China's ability when it comes to implementing protection rights.

On the other hand, China's plant cultivation, breeding industry and even its economy may face fierce competition and challenges if it becomes bound by the 1991 Act, according to some SFA experts who declined to be named.

To meet such a situation, China should update its existing regulations concerning the rights protection of new varieties of plants, which were adopted in 1997, and turn such rules into law, they suggest.

National database and network

It is also a must for China to conduct a national inventory of its overall resources of all plant genera and species for inclusion on databases.

Groups of experts are to undertake specific research and investigations this year in a bid to prepare for a nationwide inventory.

In the years ahead, Zhou and Li said they hope more and more citizens, local officials, governments and those involved in development, business and trade relating to the protection of new varieties of plants will become more cognizant of the importance of such protection.

They complain that many people engaged in the sector were found to be ignorant of the issue.

For example, the SFA's office has, since 1999, not accepted any application for protection rights of new varieties of peony in Heze, in East China's Shandong Province, and Luoyang, in Central China's Henan Province, two areas which produce the flower in abundance.

"Without applications and official approval, their protection of new varieties of peony cannot be ensured both at home and abroad," said Zhou, who warns their exports and imports of the flower will be jeopardized if the situation remains unchanged.

To help protect variety rights of holders, forestry authorities need to authorize specific departments or agencies to enforce China's existing regulations governing protection rights of new varieties of plants.

The SFA, meanwhile, has worked out specific rules for its law-enforcing agencies to deal with reported cases of infringement.

A national network of representative agencies commissioned to handle applications for new varieties of forest plants also needs to be set up in the next three to five years, with their services available to both domestic and overseas applicants.

To meet the demand of increasing numbers of applications, more professionals are expected to be trained for local authorities and representative agencies charged with examining and approving such applications.

Over the past five years, the SFA has officially deputized 21 agencies to handle applications, staffed by around 300 well-trained people.

"These agencies and their certificated professionals have played a key role in accelerating the implementation of China's protection of new varieties of forestry plants," said Li.

Over the past five years, a total of 70 applications for new forestry plant varieties have been handled by such agencies, or over 46 per cent of the country's total.

In 2004 alone, the number of applications and examinations they completed continued to increase and accounted for about 70 per cent of the total, SFA's statistics show.

A total of 64 foreign enterprises and individuals succeeded in applying for their rights protection within China with the help of the agencies.

"Some well-known foreign seeders and seedling firms engaged in producing new varieties of forestry plants have been introduced into China's market by our representative agencies with their legal rights well protected," added Li.(China Daily 01/24/2005 page5)

2013-07-17