law: The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001
  2. Definitions.-
  In this Act, unless
  
  the context otherwise requires,-
  a.  
  
    "Authority"
  
  means the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority
  
  established under sub-section (1) of section 3;
  b.  
  
    "benefit
  
  sharing", in relation to a variety, means such proportion of the benefit
  
  accruing to a breeder of such variety or such proportion of the benefit
  
  accruing to the breeder from an agent or a licensee of such variety, as the
  
  case may be, for which a claimant shall be entitled as determined by the
  
  Authority under section 26;
  c.  
  
  
  
    "breeder"
  
  means a person or group of persons or a farmer or group of farmers or any
  
  institution which has bred, evolved or developed any variety;
  d.  
  
    "Chairman"
  
  means the Chairman of the Tribunal;
  e.  
  
    "Chairperson"
  
  means the Chairperson of the Authority appointed under clause (a) of
  
  sub-section (5) of section 3;
  f.  
  
    "convention
  
  country" means a country which has acceded to an international convention
  
  for the protection of plant varieties to which India has also acceded, or a
  
  country which has a law on protection of plant varieties on the basis of which
  
  India has entered into an agreement for granting plant breeders' right to the
  
  citizens of both the countries;
  g.  
  
    "denomination",
  
  in relation to a variety or its propagating material or essentially derived
  
  variety or its propagating material, means the denomination of such variety or
  
  its propagating material or essentially derived variety or its propagating
  
  material, as the case may be, expressed by means of letters or a combination of
  
  letters and figures written in any language;
  h.  
  
    "essential
  
  characteristics" means such heritable traits of a plant variety which are
  
  determined by the expression of one or more genes of other heritable
  
  determinants that contribute to the principal features, performance or value of
  
  the plant variety;
  i.  
  
    "essentially
  
  derived variety", in respect of a variety (the initial variety) shall be
  
  said to be essentially derived from such initial variety when it-
   
  
   i.  
  
    is
  
  predominantly derived from such initial variety, or from a variety that itself
  
  is predominantly derived from such initial variety, while retaining the
  
  expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or
  
  combination of genotypes of such initial variety;
  is
  
  clearly distinguishable from such initial variety; and
   
  
   iii.  
  
    conforms
  
  (except for the differences which result from the act of derivation) to such
  
  initial variety in the expression of the essential characteristics that result
  
  from the genotype or combination of genotypes of such initial variety;
  a.  
  
  
  b.  
  
  
  c.  
  
  
  
  
  d.  
  
  
  e.  
  
  
  f.  
  
  
  g.  
  
  
  h.  
  
  
  i.  
  
  
  j.  
  
    "extant
  
  variety" means a variety available in India which is-
   
  
  
  
   i.  
  
    notified
  
  under section 5 of the Seeds Act, 1966 (54 of 1966); or
  farmers'
  
  variety; or
   
  
   iii.  
  
    a
  
  variety about which there is common knowledge; or
   
  
   iv.  
  
    any
  
  other variety which is in public domain;
  a.  
  
  
  b.  
  
  
  c.  
  
  
  d.  
  
  
  e.  
  
  
  f.  
  
  
  g.  
  
  
  h.  
  
  
  i.  
  
  
  j.  
  
  
  k.  
  
    "farmer"
  
  means any person who-
   
  
   i.  
  
    cultivates
  
  crops by cultivating the land himself; or
  cultivates
  
  crops by directly supervising the cultivation of land through any other person;
  
  or
   
  
   iii.  
  
    conserves
  
  and preserves, severally or jointly, with any person any wild species or
  
  traditional varieties or adds value to such wild species or traditional
  
  varieties through selection and identification of their useful properties;
  a.  
  
  
  b.  
  
  
  c.  
  
  
  d.  
  
  
  e.  
  
  
  f.  
  
  
  g.  
  
  
  h.  
  
  
  i.  
  
  
  
  
  j.  
  
  
  k.  
  
  
  l.  
  
    "farmers'
  
  variety" means a variety which-
   
  
   i.  
  
    has
  
  been traditionally cultivated and evolved by the farmers in their fields; or
  is
  
  a wild relative or land race of a variety about which the farmers possess the
  
  common knowledge;
  a.  
  
  
  b.  
  
  
  
  
  c.  
  
  
  d.  
  
  
  e.  
  
  
  f.  
  
  
  g.  
  
  
  h.  
  
  
  i.  
  
  
  j.  
  
  
  k.  
  
  
  l.  
  
  
  m.  
  
    "Gene
  
  Fund" means the National Gene Fund constituted under sub-section (1) of
  
  section 45;
  n.  
  
  
  
    "Judicial
  
  Member" means a Member of the Tribunal appointed as such under sub-section
  
  (1) of section 55 and includes the Chairman;
  o.  
  
    "Member"
  
  means a Judicial Member or a Technical Member of the Tribunal and includes the
  
  Chairman;
  p.  
  
    "member"
  
  means a member of the Authority appointed under clause (b) of sub-section (5)
  
  of section 3 and includes the member-secretary;
  q.  
  
    "prescribed"
  
  means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
  r.  
  
    "propagating
  
  material" means any plant or its component or part thereof including an
  
  intended seed or seed which is capable of, or suitable for, regeneration into a
  
  plant;
  s.  
  
  
  
    "Register"
  
  means the National Register of Plant Varieties referred to in section 13;
  t.  
  
    "Registrar"
  
  means a Registrar of Plant Varieties appointed under sub-section (4) of section
  
  12 and includes the Registrar-General;
  u.  
  
    "Registrar-General"
  
  means the Registrar-General of Plant Varieties appointed under sub-section (3)
  
  of section 12;
  v.  
  
    "Registry"
  
  means the Plant Varieties Registry referred to in sub-section (1) of section
  
  12;
  w.  
  
    "regulations"
  
  mean the regulations made by the Authority under this Act;
  x.  
  
  
  
    "seed"
  
  means a type of living embryo or propagate capable of regeneration and giving
  
  rise to a plant which is true to such type;
  y.  
  
    "Tribunal"
  
  means the Plant Varieties Protection Appellate Tribunal established under
  
  section 54;
  z.  
  
    "Technical
  
  Member" means a Member of the Tribunal who is not a Judicial Member;
  aa.  
  ba.  
  ca.  
  da.  
  ea.  
  fa.  
  ga.  
  ha.  
  ia.  
  ja.  
  ka.  
  la.  
  ma.  
  na.  
  oa.  
  pa.  
  qa.  
  ra.  
  sa.  
  ta.  
  ua.  
  va.  
  wa.  
  xa.  
  ya.  
  za.  
  
    "variety"
  
  means a plant grouping except micro organism within a single botanical tax on
  
  of the lowest known rank, which can be-
   
  
   i.  
  
    defined
  
  by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype of
  
  that plant grouping;
  distinguished
  
  from any other plant grouping by expression of at least one of the said
  
  characteristics; and
   
  
   iii.  
  
    considered
  
  as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated, which remains
  
  unchanged after such propagation. and includes propagating material of such
  
  variety, extant variety, transgenic variety, farmers' variety and essentially
  
  derived variety.