Plant variety protection covers intellectual property rights over varieties of plants which allow the right holder to exercise exclusive trade rights for a defined period of time. Article 27(3)(b) of the TRIPS Agreement requires each of the Member States of the WTO, within stated time frames, to provide protection to the plants by means of domestic law. Farmers' rights to conserve improve, and make available plant genetic resources for the production of a new plant variety should be recognized and protected at all times. Farmers' and breeders' rights are described in this article, which is outlined in numerous sections of the Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 (PVPFR Act) and have been recognized in cases such as PepsiCo vs. the Farmers.
