BioVoice News August 2017 Issue 3 Volume 2 | Page 55

This is a unique legislation, which, by providing protection to plant varieties and farmers’ and breeder’s rights, stimulates investment in R&D and creation of new varieties and facilitates growth of the seed industry of the overriding effect over any other law as provided under Section 92, the provisions of PPVFR Act shall prevail over the Patents Act. Therefore, in the light of the exclusion of plants, varieties and seeds from the Patents Act, the patentee has the only option of making claim for benefit sharing under the PPVFR Act. By adopting the PPVFR mechanism which provides for a balanced framework, clear cut distinction can be achieved between IPR protection, regulatory process for biosafety and commercialization of transgenic traits. The Central Government has established the PPVFR Authority for implementation of the PPVFR Act. In all the proceedings before the PPVFR Authority or the Registrar, it has all the powers of a civil court for the purposes of receiving evidence, administering oaths, enforcing the attendance of witnesses etc. The Authority can also recover the benefit share from the breeders, if required, using Subsection (7) of Section 26 of the PPVFR Act as an arrear of land revenue by referring to the District Magistrate within whose local limits of jurisdiction the breeder liable for such benefit sharing resides. Firstly, the trait developers’ rights are protected under Section 26 BIOVOICENEWS.COM 55