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2 Okla. J.L. & Tech. 1 (2004-2005)

handle is hein.journals/okjolt2 and id is 1 raw text is: 2 OKLA. J. J. & TECH. 14 (2004) wwwokiolt.org Abstract Robyn Ott is currently a third-year law student at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She is also the managing editor of the Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology for the 2004- 2005 academic year. Ms. Ott wrote this article under the direction of Professor Drew Kershen while she was a member of the Project on Intellectual Property Rights in Living Matter. Below, Ms. Ott discusses India's laws pertaining to protection of plant varieties and farmers' rights. The Indian Parliament enacted the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer's Rights Act of 2001 in order to spur the development of new varieties of plants by providing protection for developers of new plant varieties. Edited by Jennifer Stevenson PROTECTION OF PLANT VARIETIES AND THE FARMER'S RIGHTS ACT @ 2004 Robyn Ott I. Introduction India became a member of the World Trade Organization on January 1, 1995.' As a member, India was then required to comply with the Trade Related Aspects of the Intellectual Property Systems (TRIPS) agreement.2 Specifically, Article 27.3 (b) of TRIPS requires member countries to protect plant varieties either by patents, or by an effective sui generis3 system of protection.4 Electing to comply using the sui generis option, the Indian Parliament passed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer's Rights Act (PPVFR), in August 2001.6 The purpose of PPVFR is to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant 1 World Trade Organization, Understanding the WTO: The Organization, at h ww(Apr., 4, 2003). 2 Stephen Barnes, Pharmaceutical Patents and TRIPS: A Comparison of India and South Africa, 91 KY. L.J. 911, 917 (2002-2003). 3 Sui generis, which translates roughly into self-generating, means that a country can decide on any system, provided the system grants effective plant breeder's rights. Suman Sahai, India's Plant Variety Protection and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, CURRENT SCIENCE, Feb. 10, 2003, at 407, http://wwwvias ac in/currsci/feb 102003/407ydf (last visited Feb. 12, 2004). 4 World Trade Organization, TRIPS: A More Detailed Overview of the Trips Agreement, at http://www.wto.org/english/tratoD e/trips e/intel2 e.htm (last visited Feb. 12, 2004). B.J. Krishnan, Move to Join UPOV, HINDU BUSINEsS LINE, Oct. 2, 2002, available at www,blonnetcon2002/10/02/stories/2002100200230900.htm (last visited June 7, 2004).. 6 V.B. JUGALE, TRADING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES UNDER THE IPR REGIME: PBRS AND FRS IN INDIA 5, httn://wwsisshyd.net/siss/docs/iugaledoc (last visited Feb. 12, 2004). 1