Plant Protection

Plant varieties are often the result of many years, if not decades of selective breeding, yet in agricultural settings, desirable varieties have been known to ‘jump the fence’ easily and show up as competing products.  We can help you to maximise the value of your developments through IP protection for your plant variety.

Most countries provide protection for plant varieties under plant variety rights legislation, and some even allow for protection of plant varieties through patents (such as the United States and Australia), provided the plants meet the usual requirements for patentability (such as novelty and inventive step).

At Franke Hyland we can prepare and file applications for plant variety rights in Australia and New Zealand directly (whether this is a variety from Australia, New Zealand or other overseas jurisdiction), or through our extensive network in other overseas jurisdictions.

Alternatively, if it appears that a variety may be a suitable candidate for patent protection, we have considerable experience in drafting specifications for patents for plants and methods for their production (be it through traditional breeding techniques or transgenic means). We can also assist with selecting varietal names and branding for your variety.