A re‐examination of the plant variety act 2021 from the perspective of pre‐exisiting obligation to protect plant varieties

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• Author: Oluwaseun S. Fapetu
• Date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.12271

Received: 25 April 2022

|

Accepted: 11 March 2023

DOI: 10.1111/jwip.12271

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Are‐examination of the plant variety act 2021

from the perspective of pre‐exisiting obligation to

protect plant varieties

Oluwaseun S. Fapetu

Faculty of Law, Adekunle Ajasin University,

Akungba‐Akoko, Nigeria

Correspondence

Oluwaseun S. Fapetu, Faculty of Law,

Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba‐Akoko,

Nigeria.

Email: fapetuseun@gmail.com

Abstract

The paper examines the newly enacted Plant Variety Act in

Nigeria in relation to the obligations of Nigeria to protect

plant varieties. The paper views these obligations from

different perspectives in the protection of diverse interest

related to plant varieties. The paper finds that the Act

offers an unbalanced protection of right which strongly

protects the intellectual property rights of breeders

without recourse to the other interest obligated to be

protected by several international agreement which Nigeria

is a signatory to especially farmers', communities and

biodiversity interests. The paper advocates for an amend-

ment of the Act to ensure a balanced and compliant legal

framework for the protection of plant varieties in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS

farmers' right, plant varieties protection, protection of biodiversity,

traditional knowledge

1|INTRODUCTION

In May 2021, the Nigerian President signed the long overdue Plant Variety Protection Bill into law.

1

This Act is

termed long overdue because the Country which is a signatory

2

to the Marrakesh Founding Agreement of the

World Trade Organisation usually termed the Agreement on Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

(TRIPS) of 1994

3

had obligations to protect plant variety

4

on or before 15 April 2004.

5

The enactment of this Act

garnered several accolades and applause by several municipal and international organisations, with the Nigerian

Economic Summit Group applauded the Federal Government of Nigeria for signing the Act and remarking that the

Act ‘will create a more appropriate system that meets today's realities, improve the business environment and

general agricultural performance across the economy as a whole’.

6

J World Intellect Prop. 2023;26:259–272. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jwip © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

|

259