L
A W No
266/2002
Art.1. – (1) The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry ensures the organizational framework and the compliance with the legal provisions regarding the production, processing, the quality control and certification, the marketing of seeds and propagating material, as well as the registration of plants varieties.
(2)
The plant species to which the provisions of this law apply shall be
established by order of the minister of agriculture, food and forestry.
(3)
Within the content of this law, by seed
is meant also propagating material and by plants
are meant agricultural and horticultural plants.
Art.2.
– Within the field of activity provided by art.1, the Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Forestry has the following main duties and
responsibilities:
a)
registers the economic operators professionally involved, irrespective of their
ownership status, which are producing with a view to marketing, processing
and/or marketing seeds of plant species; (provided by art.1)
b)
organizes the control and certification of the varietal purity, phyto-sanitary
status and cultural value of seeds;
c)
monitories and controls the
application by the registered economic operators, of technical norms for seed
production, processing and marketing
established together with the Academy of Agricultural Science and Forest
„Gheorghe Ionescu Sisesti”
and relevant profesional and
inter-profesional associations;
d)
supports the development of domestic research for creating plant varieties of
economic interest and establishes measures for the protection of agricultural
producers, natural and legal persons, against the risk of use inadequate seeds
or seeds belonging to varieties that are not suitable to the agricultural
conditions of our country;
e)
publishes every year or periodically, as the case
may be, the list of varieties in the Official Catalogue of Registered Varieties
of Plant Species, as well as the list or lists of varieties recommended to be
used by Romanian growers or enables their publication;
f)
provides assistance to registered economic operators for seed production,
processing and marketing as well as for making projections of seed needs, by
species, varieties and biological categories, putting at their disposal the
available relevant information;
g)
monitories
the application of the
provisions of this Law, as well
as the provisions resulting from international conventions and agreements in
which Romania is a part of, in the field of seed production, processing,
quality control and marketing as well as plant varieties testing and
registration;
h)
establishes measures for eliminating the possibilities of seeds
market disturbance, for ensuring the conservation of plant genetic resources
and for protecting the environment
and human and animal health;
Art.3. – The definition of the specific terms used in this Law are included in the annex hereto, and which can be modified and completed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in accordance with the evolution of the technical knowledge in this field and with the regulations of competent international bodies, in which Romania takes part.
CHAPTER
II - The
Production, Processing and/or Marketing of Seeds
Art.4.
– (1) The production intended for marketing, processing and/or marketing of
seeds is carried out by economic operators – natural or legal persons –
registered for this purpose and having a authorization issued by the Ministry
of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, through seed control and certification
territorial authorities.
(2)
The natural or legal persons stipulated in paragraph (1) can be registered, on
request, which prove to have the required technical-material means, and
personnel with appropriate knowledge for the requested activity, according to
the legislations in force, included those related to phyto-sanitary quarantine,
as the case may be.
(3)
The methodology for registration and authorization issuing forseen at paragraph
(2) shall be approved by order of the minister of agriculture, food and forestry.
Art.5. – The economic operators registered for the production, processing and/or marketing of seeds, have the following obligations:
a)
to comply with the rules and norms in force regarding the production,
processing and marketing of seeds, including those concerning phyto-sanitary
quarantine, as the case may be;
b)
to keep to date records of seeds production, transactions and stocks in a
register of ins-and-outs in accordance with the model established by order of
minister of agriculture, food and forestry, which shall be available to
competent control authorities at their request;
c)
to comply with the legal provisions regarding plant variety rights;
d)
to notify, within the time limits set by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Forestry, about the seed production areas and the proposed quantities for
certification;
e) to ensure the use of appropriate propagating methods, self-control of quality, and quality requirements and to guarantee the quality during the validity period of the delivered seeds to the beneficiaries;
Art.6 - The authorization granted subsequent to the registration of economic operators for the production, processing and/or marketing of seeds, as the case may be, may be withdrawn by the authority that issued it, temporarily or permanently, if it is assessed that the obligations set out in art.5 have been infriged or if they take no activities in the respective domain during 3 running years.
Art.7.
– The registered seed producers may conclude written conventions or
agreements with the neighbouring agricultural producers, natural or legal
persons, regarding the respect of isolation distances from neighboring crops
intended for seed production, according to the established technical norms.
Art.8.
– Variety breeders or maintainers shall support the registered economic
operators which multiply these varieties in applying the specific technologies
for seed production, under the contractual provisions, according to law.
Art.9.
– The production of seeds of biological categories pre-basic and basic seed
fall under the responsibility of natural and legal persons denominated as maintainer
in the Register of registered plant varieties, hereinafter called Register
of varieties, and published in the Official Catalogue of Varieties
and Hybrids Crop Plants in Romania, for the respective year, hereinafter called
Official
Catalogue.
Art.10.
– Economic operators registered for the production, processing and/or
marketing of seeds, shall be responsible for their seed quality and identity
and shall bear the damages caused to beneficiaries due to the marketing of
improper seeds.
Art.11.
– Economic operators registered for the production, processing and/or
marketing of seeds, are obliged to store, handle treate and transport them by
lots, varieties and biological categories in appropriate packaties, in
accordance with the legislation in force.
Art.12.
– The technical rules and norms regarding the production intended for
marketing, processing, quality control and certification and/or marketing of
seeds, as well as the procedure of the registration, supervision, monitoring
and accreditation of the activities of suppliers, are approved by order of
minister of agriculture, food and forestry, in compliance with the provisions
of the present law and of regulations of international bodies in which Romania
takes part.
Art.13.
– (1) Seeds are marketed packed in specific packages closed and, labeled, and
the mentions marked on the label must reflect and attest their identity and
quality, according to the norms in force, including phyto-sanitary status.
(2)
In case of genetically modified varieties all accompanying labels or documents,
shall clearly indicate that the variety has been genetically modified.
(3)
The seeds as grown, the identity of which has been attested can be marketed, in
view to processing.
Art.14.
– (1) Seeds of plant species, domestically produced or imported, established
by order of the minister of agriculture, food and forestry,
can be produced with a view to marketing and can be marketed only if the
variety is registered in the Official Catalogue or in the Catalogues of the
European Community, as the case may be.
(2)
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry can take measures to forbid,
for a part or for the entire territory of the country, the use of a genetically
modified variety, if found that the variety is harmful to crops of other
varieties or species, or puts at risk to the environment or human health.
(3)
In case of species and varieties that are not registered according to paragraph
(1), the following can be marketed on the domestic market, imported or
exported:
a)
seeds intended for multiplication on contractual basis in view to their total
export;
b)
seed quantities for other tests or trials purposes, provided they belong to
varieties for which an application for registration in the catalogue has been
submitted. In case of a genetically modified variety, shall respecting the
legal provisions for preventing the risks to human health or to environment.
c) seed by genera and species of plant established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in accordance with regulations of international bodies in which Romania takes part.
(4)
In case of species and varieties that are not registered according to paragraph
(1), the following, aproved by the The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Forestry can be brought into the country and sended
abroad:
a)
seeds intended for scientific or selection purposes;
b)
seeds intended for testing in view to registration;
c)
seeds intended for demonstration lots and exhibitions;
Art.15.
– For preserving the plant genetic resources, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Forestry can establish specific conditions regarding the production,
quality control and marketing of seeds from these plants.
Art.16
- By order of the minister of agriculture, food and forestry, special
conditions can be established to regulate the marketing of certain categories
of seeds.
Art.17
- (1) The economic operators registered for the marketing of seeds can import
and export seeds in accordance with domestic norms and with the regulations of
international bodies in the domain in which
(2)
The import is allowed with prior approval of the specialised authority of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, in accordance with the present law.
(3)
The import of seeds from countries other than those of the European Community
of species for which an equivalence of requirements for certification and
variety protection is determined, is permitted with respect of the provisions
of art.14 and in accordance with the regulations of international bodies, with
regard to seeds intended for international trade in which Romania takes part.
The equivalence it is been ascertained by the specialized authorities of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
(4)
The importers shall communicate the carrying out of the import to the
specialized territorial authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Forestry, which will check the compliance of the import and placing on the
market conditions.
(5) The importing economic operators will record the quantities of imported seeds in their own ins-and-outs register.
Art.18
- The
imported seeds cannot circulate on the domestic market unless they are in their
original packages and with original labels. Re-packing and re-labeling are
allowed only under the control of the official control and certification
authority and only by economic operators registered to this end.
Art.19
– The seed export is allowed
on contractual basis, provided that domestic and international regulations
regarding the circulation of seeds intended for international trade, European
Community regulations, or, as the case may be, the conditions required by the
importer, are observed.
CHAPTER
III – Seed
Quality Control and Certification
Art.20. – (1) The control, certification of identity and quality of seeds, the registration, supervision, monitoring and accreditation of economic operators supplying seeds, through all the phases of production, processing and marketing, are carried out by the National Inspection for the Quality of Seeds, a specialized service within the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, according to technical rules and norms and with international regulations in force.
(2) The Central Laboratory for the Quality of Seeds and Propagating Material is being set up through the reorganization of the Central Laboratory for the Control of Seed Quality. In a term of 60 days after the present law is in force, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry shall submitt to the Government for the adoption the reorganization and functioning rules of The Central Laboratory for the Quality of Seeds and Propagating Material.
(3) The Territorial Inspectorates for the quality of seeds and propagating material and the Central Laboratory for the Quality of Seeds and Propagating Material operate as units with legal status, financed from extra-budgetary sources and from alocation granted from state budget are subordinated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry through the National Inspection for the Quality of Seeds.
(4) The Territorial Inspectorates for the quality of seeds and propagating material and the Central Laboratory for the Quality of Seeds and Propagating Material are responsible for the documents they issue.
Art.21. – (1) The National Inspection for the Quality of Seeds has the following duties:
a)
registers, issues and withdraws the authorizations
of operation for the economic operators that carry out the production,
processing and/or marketing of seeds, as the case may be; with respect of
provisions art. 4-6.
b)
submits for approval to the Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Forestry legislation drafts concerning seeds quality;
c) organizes, coordinates and controls the activity of the Territorial Inspectorates for the quality of seeds and propagating material and of the Central Laboratory for the Quality of Seeds and Propagating Material;
d) issues rules, norms and instructions for the production, control, certification, accreditation and marketing in accordance with international regulations in the field of seeds, in which Romania takes part, registers the annual applications for the multiplication of seeds and follows their application;
e)
ensures and performs the control for maintaining the quality of seeds of all
biological categories, through pre-control and post-control, through adequate
scientific schemes and techniques;
f) ensures the connection with specialized international bodies in the field of seeds;
g) accredits natural and legal persons which meet the conditions established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to carry out field inspection, to sampling and test seed quality, to issue documents and perform other specific activities under its supervision;
h) may withdraw the acreditation, cancel the issued documents or measures taken by the accredited persons, if to ascertain that their obligations have been broken, in accordance with the the accreditation norms and contract of accreditation;
i)
ensures the training and attesting of specialized
persons for the specific activities.
(2) For the control, certification, registration, supervision, monitoring and accreditation, as well as for quality tests, the applicant shall pay the value of services once the application has been approved, in accordance to the tariffs established by order of the minister of agriculture, food and forestry. The obtained amounts shall represent extra-budgetary means and shall be used by the Territorial Inspectorates for the quality of seeds and propagating material and the Central Laboratory for the Quality of Seeds and Propagating Material, for covering capital, material and personnel expenditures. The amounts remained over at the end of the year shall be carried forward to the following year after the regulating with state budget, and shall be used for the same purposes.
Art.22. – The biological categories of seeds which are controlled and for which official certificates can be issued for attesting their identity and quality, based on this law, are:
b) basic seeds
c) certified seeds
d) commercial seeds
(2) The production, control, certification and marketing technical rules and norms could also foresee other seed categories or their subdivisions, characteristics of different species, in accordance with the regulations of the international bodies in this areas to which Romania takes part.
Art.23. – The genera, species and varieties established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry are accepted for official control and/or certification or under official supervision, on the basis of this Law, in accordance with the regulations of international bodies in which Romania takes part.
Art.24.
– (1) The marketing of seeds which do
not comply with the requirements of the rules and norms
in force, including those concerning packing, sealing and labeling, provided by
Law, shall be forbidden.
(2) – It is forbidden to impose restrictions for the marketing of seeds, regarding their characteristics, the examining, labeling and sealing conditions other than the ones forseen by this Law or by other speciffic legislation in force.
(3) For certain species and in compliance with the rules established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, small non-professional producers are allowed to market on the local market, directly to the non-professional final user, seed which do not comply with the general requirements regarding packing, sealing and labeling system, without to harm of phyto-sanitary quarantine regulations and with guarantee of seeds quality.
Art.25 - In case of temporary difficulties in the general supply of certified seeds, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry may permit, for a specified period, the marketing of seeds from a category subject to less stringent requirements than those foreseen by the general rules and norms or belonging to varieties other than those accepted according to the Law.
CHAPTER
IV - The Seed Market
Art.26.
– (1) Economic operators, natural or legal persons, registered for the
production of seeds, shall benefit from financial aid for the production of
seeds obtaining on a multiplication contract or a declaration
basis registered to the designated authority, according to the legislation.
(4)
If, due to imports or exports, the seed market is seriously disturbed, the
Government shall take the necessary measures in the trade with other countries,
applicable until such disturbances or the possibility of their occurrence has
ceased.
CHAPTER V - Registration of Plant Varieties
Art.29. - The varieties of species registered in the Official Catalogue of the European Community or in the catalogue of a member state are equivalent to those registered in the Varieties Register and Official Catalogue, with regard to distinctivity, uniformity and stability.
Art.30. – The seeds of species deleted from the Official Catalogue in the forseen cases at art. 36 may still be certified and marketed in the following 2, and respectively 3 years after their deletion, in order to liquidate the existing stocks.
Art.31.
– (1) The registration of a variety in the Register of Varieties and its
publishing in the Official Catalogue is done by order of the minister of
agriculture, food and forestry, after it has been established that, as it
resulted from the technical examination performed by the State Institute for
Testing and Registration of Varieties, it satisfies the requirements of distinctivity,
uniformity and stability and that, for species established by the Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Forestry, the variety has a satisfactory agricultural
and/or utilization value.
Art.32 - A genetically modified variety may not be tested or registered until the applicant has proven that it meets the legal conditions regarding the protection of environment, human and animal health.
Art.33.–
When registering in the Register of Varieties, each variety must be
distinguished by an accepted denomination which should enable its
identification in accordance with the regulations of competent international
organizations in which Romania takes part.
Art.35. – For a local variety, from a well determined region, or in the case the breeder no longer exists, registration and extension of registration may be done ex officio by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry which shall also establishes the maintainer of the respective variety.
Art.36.
– A variety may be deleted from the Official Catalogue through order of the
minister of agriculture, food and Forestry in the following cases:
a)
proves to be unsuitable from distinctivity, uniformity and stability point of
view, characteristics on the basis of which it was registered into the Register
of Varieties and published in the Official Catalogue;
b)
new characteristics have appeared which would have prevented its registration,
characteristics unknown at the moment of registration;
c)
at the request of the breeder, breeders representative or variety maintainer,
as the case may be, as well as when the maintainer does not meet the condition
to present at any time the seed necessary for reproduction of the variety in
conformity with the initial characteristics existing at the moment of
registration and to allow the periodical checks of the State Institute for
Testing and Registration of Varieties;
d) a person to maintain the registered variety does no longer exist;
e)
it is proved that the same variety is registered under another name;
f)
the owner of the variety registration certificate does not pay the charges for
variety checking during the period in which the variety is registered in the
Register of Varieties;
g)
after 10 years from the variety registration, if renewal of registration is not
requested or not approved anymore;
Art.37.
(1). –The State Institute for Testing and Registration of Varieties operates
as a specialized body subordinated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Forestry and has the following duties:
a)
issues the methodology for the technical examination
and presentation of new varieties in view of registration in the Varieties
Register and published in the Official Catalogue, taking account of the
internal and international regulations in force;
b)
examines the varieties for which registration is requested;
c)
prevents the alienation of the biological material under examination and
ensures the confidentiality of the information obtained at breeder request;
d)
ensures the storage of the seed samples of registered varieties;
e)
carries out the annual checking of varietal
purity of multiplied seeds, ordered by the control and certification authority;
f) is the keeper of the Register of Varieties issues and publishes annually the Official Catalogue;
g)
ensures the link with international bodies and organizations in the field of
seed testing and registration;
(2)
The regulations for the organization and functioning of the State Institute for
Testing and Registration of Varieties shall be approved by order of the
minister of agriculture, food and forestry.
Art.38.
– The Technical Council for Plant Varieties and Seeds is organized as
consultative body of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Its
members and their tasks shall be established by order of the minister of
agriculture, food and forestry.
Art.39.
– (1) For the technical examination of varieties, the applicant or the owner
of the registration certificate shall pay, once approval is given for the
examination or for testing or for undertaking the checking tests for the
control of maintaining the varietal purity of the
registered variety, the amount foreseen in the tariffs established by order of
the minister of agriculture, food and forestry.
(2)
The obtained amount shall constitute extra-budgetary income and shall be used
by the State Institute for Testing and Registration of Varieties, for covering
capital, material and personnel expenditures. Amount left over at the end of
the year shall be carried forward to the following year after the regulating
with the state budget and shall be used for the same purposes.
Art.40.
– Varieties that fulfill the conditions set out in articles 31 and 33 shall
be considered registered and shall be entered in the
Register of Varieties, and the breeder shall receive from the State Institute
for Testing and Registration of Varieties a variety registration certificate
valid for 20 years from the date of issuance in the case of field crops, and 25
years for trees and vine. At the request of the breeder, the parental forms
used to obtain commercial hybrids can also be registered.
Art.41.
– (1) The protection of plant varieties is ensured in accordance with Law
no.255/1998 regarding the protection of new plant varieties.
(2)
The breeder’s rights over the new plant varieties belonging to any genera and
species shall be recognized and protected by granting of a variety patent under
the provisions of Law no.255/1998.
(3)
The invention patent granted in accordance with the Law 64/1991 gives the
breeder same rights.
(4)
- The right to produce and market can be contractually transferred to any
natural or legal person registered according to article 4, which commits itself
to pay the owner of the patent a royalty fee mutually agreed. Failure to
respect this commitment entails the withdrawal of the authorization of seeds
production and marketing and the payment of the damages resulting from this.
Art.42.
– The variety registration certificate gives the owner the right to produce
and market seeds of all the biological categories of the respective variety and
to benefit of the rights derived from this, according to the legislation in
force.
Art.43.
– The State Institute for Testing and Registration of Varieties is designated
as depository institution for the reproductible material of the varieties
registered in the Register of Varieties.
Art.44.
– The State Institute for Testing and Registration of Varieties is mandated
to carry out the examinations and checks for the control of the maintenance of
the varietal purity of the varieties registered in the Register of Varieties
and published in the Official Catalogue.
Art.45.
– After obtaining the variety registration certificate, the owner has the
obligation to make available to the State Institute for Testing and
Registration of Varieties a control-sample of seeds or plants which shall be
conserved and shall represent the standard-sample for verification varietal
purity and authenticity.
Art.46
– The owner of the variety registration certificate shall pay for the
examination and verification for the control of the maintenance of varietal
purity during the entire period in which it is listed in the Register of
Varieties and published in the Official Catalogue.
Art.47.
– (1) The National Inspection for the Quality of Seeds can order on
withholding any quantity of seeds ready to be marketed, during or after its
marketing, which was found without documents of quality or phyto-sanitary
status or with documents non-complying with the legislation in force, until the
situation is clarified.
b)
the production, processing and/or marketing of
seeds without the authorization issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Forestry, through the control and certification territorial autorities
excepting those foreseen by article 24, paragraph 3;
c)
not taking the appropriate measures for maintaining quality and identity on the
harvesting, processing or conditioning of seeds;
d)
seed storage and transport without the documents attesting their quality and
identity, as well as non-ensuring the measures for protecting of their quality
and authenticity;
e)
the absence of the ins-and-outs register forseen at art. 5 letter b), the
inappropriate keeping of the records regarding seed production, ins, outs and
stocks;
f)
the refusal to show the documents regarding the quality of seeds, as well as
the records provided for at letter e), at the request of the control
authorities empowered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry;
g)
the writing of erronated data in the documents attesting the quality of seeds;
h)
the marketing of seeds without the documents attesting the quality and the
phyto-sanitary status appropriate for sowing;
i)
the marketing of seeds which do not comply with the norms in force.
Art.49.
– The following facts are considered offence to the norms regarding the
production, processing, quality control and marketing of seed and are
sanctioned with imprisoning jail from 3 months to 4 years:
a)
the introduction of seeds into the country without the speciality approval of
the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry or not complying with the
regulations in force.
b)
the marketing of imported seeds not authorized by the specialised authority of
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry or without observing
provisions of
art. 18;
c)
inserting by full intention erronated
data in the documents attesting seed quality;
Art.50.
– (1) The contraventions provided for in art.48 of the present law shall be
sanctioned by penalty applied to natural or as the case may be legal persons,
as follows:
a)
those of point d) with fines ranging from 3,400,000 lei to 10,000,000 lei;
b)
those of points c), e), h) with fines ranging from 10,000,000 lei to 17,000,000
lei;
c)
those of points a), b), i) with fines ranging from 17,000,000 lei to 34,000,000
lei;
d)
those of points f), g) with fines ranging from 34,000,000 lei to 56,000,000
lei.
(2)
The value of the penalties shall be periodically updated by Government
Decision, according to the inflation rate.
Art.51. – (1) The ascertaining of contraventions and the application of penalties provided for in art.50 is carried out by the authorized persons by the National Inspection for the Quality of Seeds. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry can also mandate other persons to ascertain contraventions and to apply penalties.
(2)
The dispozitions of the Government Ordinance nr. 2/2001 regarding the legal
contravention rules, with the
subsequant modification and completions,
are applicable to the contraventions foreseen at art.48 .
(3) The personnel of the central and local public administration institutions shall support authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry as regards the cases of violation of the provisions of this Law.
CHAPTER
VII - Final and transitional clauses
Art.52.
– The provisions of the present law are applied also to the varieties listed
in the Register of Varieties and, respectively, in the Official Catalogue at
the enforcement date of present Law. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Forestry shall take such measures as to ensure that by the date of entry into
force of this law, it has issued variety registration certificates and has
established the maintainer right of institutes, agricultural research stations,
universities as well as of other breeders or economic operators, at their
request.
This
Law has been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies during the meeting of
PRESIDENT
OF CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES
VALER
DORNEANU
This
Law
has been
adopted by The Senat during
the meeting OF April 8th 2002, with observance of the provisions
foreseen by art. 74 paragraph (1) from the
Constitution of
For
PRESIDENT
OF SENATE
DORU
IOAN TARACILA
Bucharest
May 15th 2002
Nr.
266
Annex
Definitions
of the specialty terms used in the Law
1.
Seed
means any reproduction material: seed, fruit,
propagating material, produces by any multiplication method, intended for the
multiplication or production for the purpose of food consumption or industrial
purposes.
2.
Variety
means a group of plants belonging to the lowest rank botanical taxon
known, which:
a)
is cleary differentiated from those already known by at least a distinctive,
precise and very little fluctuant character which can be defined and described,
or by several characters the combination of which gives to it a novelty quality
(distinctiveness);
b)
is uniform with regard to the characters considered by the regulations in force
concerning varieties uniformity, with the exception of a very limited number of
off-types, taking into account the reproduction particularities (uniformity);
c)
it is stable in its essential characters, meaning that after reproduction or
succesive multiplication, or at the end of each reproduction cycle, its
essential characters remain as they have been initially described (stability);
d)
it is also considered a variety the hybrid with its parental forms.
3.
Protected
variety means a newly created variety for which a variety patent has
been issued.
4.
Plants
means agricultural and horticultural plants.
5.
Breeder
means:
a)
a natural or legal person that has created or discovered and developed a new
variety;
b)
a person that employed the person foreseen in point a) or who ordered to this
person the creation or discovery of new varieties, if the contract foresees
that the breeder’s right belongs to the former;
c)
the succesor of the rights of the person foreseen in point a) or b), as the
case may be.
6.
Maintainer
means the natural or legal person mentioned in the Registry of Varieties as
being responsible for the maintenance of the variety characteristics as they
were at the date of
registering into the Register of Varieties. The maintainer can be the variety
breeder or the person to whom the breeder has transferred this right throught
a legal transaction.
7.
Processing
means at least one of the following operations: conditioning, including
precleaning, drying, cleaning, sorting, dressing up, treatment, as the case may
be; the lost forming, packaging and labelling; as well as and auxiliary
operations: storing, keeping and transporting the seeds.
8.
Marketing
means the sale, the holding with a view to sale, the offer for sale and any
other disposal, suply or transfer aimed at commercial exploitation of seeds to
third parties, whether or not for considerantion.
The
following shall not be regarded as marketing:
a)
the supply of seeds to
official testing and inspections bodies;
b)
the supply of seeds to
providers of services for processing of packaging, as long as the provider of
services does not aquire any rights on the seeds thus supplied;
c)
the supply of seeds as
grown, under certain conditions, to providers of services for the production of
certain agricultural raw materials intended for industrial purposes or seeds
multiplied for this purpose, (processing) shall
not be regarded as marketing, as long as the provider of services does not
acquire any rights on either the
supplied seeds or the product of the harvest.
9.
The biological categories of the seed production process are defined as
follows:
a)
the breeder’s seed means the seed:
-
produced by or under the direct responsibility of the breeder or maintainer, using
conservative selection
or other specific scientific
methods;
-
which is destined for the production of pre-basic seeds;
-
which satisfies the requirements of the regulations in force concerning
varietal purity of pre-basic seeds.
b)
pre-basic seed means the seed of all biological links between the breeder’s
seed and basic seed, which:
-
has been produced by or under the direct responsibility of the maintainer;
-
has been produced from the breeder’s seed or from pre-basic seed;
-
is destined for the production of pre-basic or basic seed;
-
satisfies the requirements of the regulations in force concerning pre-basic
seeds.
c)
basic seed means the seed:
-
produced by or under the direct responsibility of the maintainer;
-
which has been produced from the pre-basic seed;
-
which is destined for the production of certified seed;
-
which satisfies the requirements of the regulations in force concerning basic
seeds.
d)
certified seed means:
-
in the case of hybrids, the seed produced in crossing fields from basic seed
and which is destined for the production of harvest for human and animal
consumption or for industrial processing;
-
in the case of varieties, the seed produced directly from basic seed for
re-multiplications or for consumption and which satisfies the requirements of
the regulations in force concerning certified seeds;
-
at the breeder’s or maintainer’s request, it can be produced from pre-basic
seed.
e)
commercial seed means:
-
its identity as to a species;
-
satisfies the requirements of the regulations in force concerning commercial
seeds;
-
satisfies, as determined by examination, the conditions of quality foreseen by
norms in force.
10.
The
registration
of economic operators means the operation of admitting an activity which an
economic operator, natural or legal person, desires to perform within the
object of activity, if the preliminary technical and organizational conditions
for that activity are fulfilled.
11.
Contract
of multiplication means the contract of providing services which
foresees the technical and financial conditions for achievement the multiplied
seeds production, concluded under law conditions, between the owner of the
seeds intended for multiplication or his/her representative, and the
multiplying grower.
12.
Declaration
of multiplication means the application for field inspection of
natural or legal persons registered for the production of seeds, addressed to
the authority in charge with the certification for the purpose of approval the
seed crop intended for multiplication.
13.
Official
supervision means the procedure whereby the official authority
supervises and verifies the specific activity of a natural or legal person
mandated by the aforementioned authority to carry out a certain activity on its
behalf.