/>iOn May 1, 2025, China’s State Council released the Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties (中华人民共和国植物新品种保护条例). Major changes in the Regulations include extending the term of variety rights for woody and vine plants from 20 years to 25 years and for other plants from 15 years to 20 years. Further, preliminary examination should be reduced from 6 months to 3 months. China has been emphasizing new plant varieties infringement this year with these Regulations, a 53 million RMB verdict in a new plant varieties infringement case, and the Supreme People’s Court release of a batch of typical cases of seed IP protection. The Regulations come into force on June 1, 2025.
The full text is available here (Chinese only). A translation follows:
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Seed Law of the People’s Republic of China in order to protect the rights of new plant varieties, encourage the cultivation and popularization of new plant varieties, and promote the development of agriculture, forestry and grassland.
Article 2 The new plant varieties referred to in these Regulations refer to plant varieties that have been artificially bred or improved from discovered wild plants and have novelty, specificity, consistency, stability and appropriate naming.
Article 3 The protection of new plant varieties should adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, implement the party and state’s strategic deployment of intellectual property rights, promote breeding innovation, and promote high-quality development of the seed industry.
Article 4 The competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs, and forestry and grassland under the State Council shall be responsible for the protection of new plant varieties nationwide in accordance with the division of responsibilities, accept and examine applications for new plant variety rights, and grant new plant variety rights (hereinafter referred to as variety rights) to new plant varieties that comply with the provisions of these Regulations; improve the testing system for new plant varieties, improve the preservation and management of propagation materials, and strengthen publicity and training on the protection of new plant varieties and related technical research.
The agricultural, rural affairs, forestry and grassland authorities of local people’s governments at or above the county level are responsible for the protection of new plant varieties within their administrative regions in accordance with their respective duties.
Article 5 Entities and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the breeding and promotion of new plant varieties shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with relevant national regulations.
Article 6 The production, operation and promotion of new plant varieties granted variety rights (hereinafter referred to as authorized varieties) shall comply with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations on seed management.
Chapter II Content and Ownership of Variety Rights
Article 7 The owner of a variety right (hereinafter referred to as the variety right holder) shall have exclusive rights to the authorized variety. Unless otherwise provided by law or these Regulations, no unit or individual may, without the permission of the variety right holder, conduct the following acts on the propagation materials of the authorized variety:
(1) production, propagation and processing for propagation;
(2) Promise to sell, or sell;
(3) Import and export;
(4) Storage for the purpose of carrying out the acts specified in Items 1 to 3 of this paragraph.
Where the conduct provided for in the preceding paragraph involves harvested materials obtained from the unauthorized use of propagation materials of authorized varieties, the permission of the variety right holder shall be obtained; however, this shall not apply where the variety right holder has had a reasonable opportunity to exercise his rights with respect to the propagation materials.
The acts prescribed in the first and second paragraphs for the following varieties shall be subject to the permission of the owner of the variety right of the authorized variety:
(1) a substantially derived variety of an authorized variety, but the authorized variety itself is not a substantially derived variety;
(2) a variety that, compared with the authorized variety, does not have the obvious distinction provided for in Article 16 of these Regulations;
(3) another variety produced or propagated using the authorized variety for commercial purposes.
Article 8 The State shall implement the substantially derived variety system in steps. The competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs and forestry and grassland under the State Council shall determine the specific scope of implementation in the form of a catalogue, which shall be announced and implemented after approval by the State Council.
Substantially derived varieties are mainly determined based on the results of molecular testing and phenotypic testing, and when necessary, comprehensive consideration is given to factors such as breeding methods, breeding process, and genetic relationships. The competent departments of agriculture, rural areas, forestry, and grasslands under the State Council shall formulate guidelines for the determination of substantially derived varieties, determine the scope of application, detection and testing methods, determination thresholds, technical processes, etc., and clarify the conditions that detection and testing institutions should have.
The agricultural and rural affairs and forestry and grassland authorities of the State Council have established an expert center consisting of experts in breeding, inspection, testing, management and law to provide professional support for the implementation of the substantive derived variety system.
Article 9: For work-related breeding completed in the execution of the unit’s tasks or mainly using the unit’s material and technical conditions, the right to apply for variety rights belongs to the unit; for non-work-related breeding, the right to apply for variety rights belongs to the individual who completed the breeding. For breeding completed using the unit’s material and technical conditions, if the unit and the individual who completed the breeding have a contractual agreement on the right to apply for variety rights, the agreement shall prevail.
In case of entrusted breeding or cooperative breeding, the parties may agree in the contract on the ownership of the application right for the variety right. If there is no contractual agreement, the application right for the variety right belongs to the entity or individual that is entrusted to complete or jointly completes the breeding.
Once the application is approved, the variety right belongs to the applicant.
Article 10: A new plant variety can only be granted one variety right. If two or more applicants apply for a variety right for the same new plant variety, the variety right shall be granted to the person who first applied; if they apply at the same time, the variety right shall be granted to the person who first completes the breeding of the new plant variety.
Article 11 The right to apply for a variety right and the variety right may be transferred in accordance with the law.
If a Chinese unit or individual transfers the application right or variety right of a new plant variety cultivated within the country to a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization, it must be approved by the agricultural, rural affairs, forestry and grassland authorities of the State Council.
Where an application right or variety right is transferred, the parties shall enter into a written contract and register with the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council, which shall make an announcement. The transfer shall take effect from the date of registration.
If a variety right is pledged, the pledger and the pledgee shall jointly apply for pledge registration with the agricultural and rural affairs, forestry and grassland authorities of the State Council, which shall make an announcement.
Article 12 Where an authorized variety is used under the following circumstances, the permission of the variety right holder may be omitted and no royalties shall be paid to the holder, provided that other rights enjoyed by the variety right holder in accordance with these Regulations and relevant laws and administrative regulations shall not be infringed:
(1) Using the authorized varieties for breeding and other scientific research activities;
(2) Propagation materials of authorized varieties propagated by farmers for their own use.
Article 13 In the interests of the state or the public interest, the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council may make a decision to implement compulsory licensing of variety rights, and register and announce it.
The entity or individual that obtains the compulsory license shall pay a reasonable usage fee to the variety right holder, the amount of which shall be agreed upon by both parties; if the two parties cannot reach an agreement, the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council shall make a ruling.
If the variety right holder is dissatisfied with the decision on compulsory licensing, or if the variety right holder and the entity or individual that has obtained the compulsory license are dissatisfied with the ruling on the compulsory licensing fee, they may bring a lawsuit in accordance with the law.
The entity or individual that obtains a compulsory license does not enjoy exclusive implementation rights and does not have the right to allow others to implement it.
Chapter III Conditions for Granting Variety Rights
Article 14 The new plant variety for which a variety right is applied for shall belong to the genus or species of plants listed in the national plant variety protection list. The plant variety protection list shall be determined and announced by the agricultural and rural affairs, forestry and grassland authorities of the State Council.
Variety rights will not be granted to new plant varieties that violate the law and endanger the public interest or the ecological environment.
Article 15 New plant varieties granted variety rights shall be novel. Novelty means that the propagation materials and harvested materials of the new plant varieties for which variety rights are applied have not been sold or promoted before the date of application, or the propagation materials and harvested materials of the new plant varieties for which variety rights are applied have not been sold or promoted by the applicant on his own or with his consent for more than one year in China; outside China, for woody and vine varieties, it has not been more than six years, and for other plant varieties, it has not been more than four years.
For plant genus or species newly included in the list of protected plant varieties after the implementation of the Seed Law of the People’s Republic of China on January 1 , 2016 , if an application for variety rights is filed within one year from the date of publication of the list, and the propagation materials and harvested materials of the variety have not been sold or promoted in China for more than four years before the application date, they shall be novel.
In addition to the loss of novelty in sales and promotion activities, the following circumstances are deemed to have lost novelty:
(1) The variety has been confirmed by the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government to have actually spread based on the sowing area;
(2) The crop variety has been approved or registered for more than 2 years but no application for a new plant variety right has been made.
Article 16 A new plant variety granted a variety right shall have specificity. Specificity means that a plant variety has one or more traits that are clearly different from known varieties.
Article 17 New plant varieties granted variety rights shall be consistent. Consistency refers to the characteristics of a plant variety, which, apart from predictable natural variations, have consistent performance of related features or characteristics among individuals within a population.
Article 18 A new plant variety granted a variety right shall be stable. Stability means that the main characteristics of a plant variety remain unchanged after repeated reproduction or at the end of a specific reproduction cycle.
Article 19 A new plant variety granted a variety right shall have an appropriate name that is distinguishable from the names of known varieties of the same or similar plant genus or species. The name shall be the common name of the new plant variety after authorization. Regardless of whether the protection period of the authorized variety has expired, the authorized name shall be used for the sale and promotion of the authorized variety.
The following names shall not be used for variety naming:
(1) Expressed only in numbers;
(2) Violating social ethics;
(3) being likely to cause misunderstanding as to the characteristics, properties or identity of the breeder of a new plant variety;
(4) Infringement of the prior rights of others;
(5) Other circumstances prohibited by laws, administrative regulations or national provisions.
The same plant variety can only use the same name when applying for new variety protection and variety approval, variety registration, sales and promotion.
Chapter IV Application and Acceptance of Variety Rights
Article 20: Chinese entities or individuals applying for variety rights may submit their applications directly or through an agency to the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grasslands of the State Council.
If a new plant variety for which a Chinese entity or individual applies for a variety right involves national security or major interests and needs to be kept confidential, it should be handled in accordance with relevant national regulations.
Article 21 Where foreigners, foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations apply for variety rights in China, they shall do so in accordance with the agreement signed between their country and the People’s Republic of China or the international treaty to which both countries are parties, or in accordance with these Regulations based on the principle of reciprocity.
Foreigners, foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations that do not have a permanent residence or place of business in China and who apply for variety rights to the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council shall entrust an agency established in China in accordance with the law to handle the application.
Article 22: Applicants for variety rights shall submit application documents that comply with the prescribed format requirements to the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grasslands under the State Council.
Application documents should be written in Chinese.
Article 23 The application date is the date on which the competent departments for agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grasslands of the State Council receive the application documents for variety rights. If the application documents are sent by mail, the application date is the date of the postmark.
Article 24 If an applicant files a variety right application in China for a new plant variety within 12 months from the date of the first filing of a variety right application in a foreign country, he or she may enjoy priority in accordance with the agreement concluded between that foreign country and the People’s Republic of China or the international treaty to which both countries are parties, or based on the principle of mutual recognition of priority.
If an applicant claims priority, he or she shall make a written statement at the time of application and, within three months, submit a copy of the first application document for variety rights submitted and confirmed by the original accepting authority; if an applicant fails to make a written statement or submit a copy of the application document in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations, it shall be deemed that no priority is claimed.
Article 25 The agricultural and rural affairs, forestry and grassland authorities of the State Council shall accept applications for variety rights that comply with the provisions of Article 22 of these Regulations, specify the application date, assign an application number, and notify the applicant to pay the application fee within one month from the date of receipt of the application.
The competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council will not accept applications for variety rights that do not comply with, or still do not comply with, the provisions of Article 22 of these Regulations after modification, and will notify the applicant.
Article 26 An applicant may modify or withdraw the application for a variety right before the right is granted.
Article 27 Any unit or individual that applies for a variety right abroad for a new plant variety cultivated in China shall register with the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council; if it provides propagation materials abroad, it shall comply with the provisions of the Seed Law of the People’s Republic of China on the provision of germplasm resources abroad.
Chapter V Examination and Approval of Variety Rights
Article 28 After the applicant pays the application fee, the competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs and forestry and grassland under the State Council shall conduct a preliminary review of the following contents of the variety right application:
(1) Whether the plant belongs to the plant genus or species listed in the list of protected plant varieties;
(2) Whether it complies with the provisions of Article 21 of these Regulations ;
(3) whether the requirements on novelty are met;
(iv) Whether the naming of the new plant variety is appropriate.
Article 29 The competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council shall complete the preliminary examination within 3 months from the date of accepting the application for variety right; if the situation is complicated, the period may be extended by 3 months. The competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council shall announce the application for variety right that has passed the preliminary examination and notify the applicant to pay the examination fee within 3 months.
For applications for variety rights that fail to meet the preliminary review requirements, the State Council’s agricultural and rural affairs and forestry and grassland authorities shall notify the applicant to state their opinions or make corrections within three months. If no response is given within the time limit, the application for variety rights shall be deemed withdrawn; if the application is still unqualified after correction, the application shall be rejected.
Article 30 After the applicant pays the examination fee in accordance with the regulations, the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council shall conduct a substantive examination of the specificity, consistency and stability of the application for variety rights.
If the applicant fails to pay the examination fee as required, the variety right application will be deemed withdrawn.
Article 31 The competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council shall conduct substantive examination mainly based on application documents and other relevant written materials. When the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council deem it necessary, they may entrust designated testing institutions to conduct tests or examine the results of completed planting or other experiments.
For review purposes, the applicant shall provide necessary information and breeding materials of the new plant variety in accordance with the requirements of the agricultural, rural, forestry and grassland authorities of the State Council.
Article 32 For applications for variety rights that have been substantively examined and comply with the provisions of these Regulations, the competent departments for agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grasslands under the State Council shall make a decision to grant the variety right, issue a variety right certificate, and register and announce it. The variety right shall take effect from the date of the authorization announcement.
The competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council shall reject any application for variety rights that does not comply with the provisions of these Regulations after substantive examination and notify the applicant.
Article 33 The competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council shall establish a New Plant Variety Review Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Review Committee).
If the applicant is dissatisfied with the decision to reject the application for variety rights, he or she may request a review from the Review Committee within three months from the date of receipt of the notice. If the request for review complies with the regulations, the Review Committee shall make a decision within six months from the date of receipt and notify the applicant. If testing, testing and appraisal are required according to law, the time required shall not be counted within the prescribed period.
If the applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision of the Review Committee, he or she may bring a lawsuit in accordance with the law.
The specific provisions for the review shall be formulated by the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council.
Article 34 After a variety right is granted, if any unit or individual violates the provisions of Article 7 of these Regulations during the period from the date of the announcement of the preliminary examination result to the date of grant of the variety right , the variety right holder shall have the right to seek compensation.
Chapter VI Duration, Termination and Invalidity of Variety Rights
Article 35 The term of protection of a variety right is 25 years for woody and vine plants and 20 years for other plants, commencing from the date of announcement of the grant of the right.
Article 36 The holder of a variety right shall pay an annual fee starting from the year in which the variety right is granted, and shall provide breeding materials of the authorized variety for inspection and testing in accordance with the requirements of the agricultural and rural affairs and forestry and grassland authorities of the State Council.
Article 37 A variety right shall terminate before the expiration of its protection period in any of the following circumstances:
(1) The holder of the plant variety right renounces the plant variety right in a written statement;
(2) The holder of the variety right fails to pay the annual fee in accordance with the regulations;
(3) the holder of the variety right fails to provide the propagation materials of the authorized variety required for inspection and testing in accordance with the requirements of the competent departments for agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland under the State Council;
(4) after examination and testing the authorized variety no longer conforms to the characteristics and properties for which the variety right was granted.
The termination of a variety right shall be registered and announced by the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council.
Article 38 From the date of announcement of the grant of variety rights, the Review Committee may, based on its authority or based on the written request of any unit or individual, declare the variety rights invalid if they do not comply with the provisions of Articles 15 to 18 of these Regulations; if they do not comply with the provisions of Article 19 of these Regulations, order them to change their names, and if they refuse to change their names, declare the variety rights invalid. The decision to declare the variety rights invalid or to change their names shall be registered and announced by the competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs, forestry and grasslands of the State Council, and the Review Committee shall notify the parties concerned.
If a party is dissatisfied with the invalidation decision of the Review Committee, he or she may bring a lawsuit in accordance with the law.
Article 39 A variety right that has been declared invalid shall be deemed to have never existed.
The decision to declare a variety right invalid shall not have retroactive effect on the judgments and mediation documents on plant variety infringements made and executed by the people’s court before the declaration, the decisions on plant variety infringements made and executed by the agricultural, rural, forestry and grassland authorities of the people’s government at or above the county level, and the variety right implementation license contracts and variety right transfer contracts that have been performed. However, if the variety right holder causes losses to others due to malicious intent, reasonable compensation shall be given.
If the compensation for infringement of new plant varieties, the fee for the use of variety rights, and the fee for the transfer of variety rights are not returned in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, which is a clear violation of the principle of fairness, they shall be returned in full or in part.
Article 40 If a party loses its rights due to force majeure due to delay in meeting the time limit prescribed in these Regulations or the time limit designated by the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council, it may, within 2 months from the date on which the obstacle is removed and within 2 years from the date on which the time limit expires , explain the reasons to the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council and request the restoration of its rights together with relevant supporting documents.
If a party loses its rights due to delay in the time limit prescribed in these Regulations or the time limit specified by the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council due to other legitimate reasons, it may state the reasons to the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council and request the restoration of its rights within 2 months from the date of receipt of the notice from the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council; however, if the time limit for requesting review is delayed, a party may request the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the State Council to restore its rights within 2 months from the expiration of the time limit for requesting review.
If a party requests an extension of the time limit specified by the agricultural, rural affairs, forestry and grassland competent departments of the State Council, it shall explain the reasons to the agricultural, rural affairs, forestry and grassland competent departments of the State Council and complete the relevant procedures before the expiration of the time limit.
The provisions of the first and second paragraphs of this Article shall not apply to the time limits stipulated in Articles 15, 24 and 35 of these Regulations.
Chapter VII Legal Liability
Article 41 Where a violation of Article 7 of these Regulations infringes upon the variety right, the parties shall resolve the dispute through negotiation. If the parties are unwilling to negotiate or fail to reach an agreement through negotiation, the variety right holder or interested party may request the competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs, forestry and grasslands of the people’s government at or above the county level to handle the case in accordance with their respective powers, or may file a lawsuit in accordance with the law.
The competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grassland of the people’s government at or above the county level may mediate the compensation for damages caused by infringement of variety rights in accordance with their respective powers and on the principle of voluntary participation of the parties. If an agreement is reached through mediation, the parties shall perform it; if the parties fail to perform the agreement or the mediation fails to reach an agreement, the variety right holder or interested party may file a lawsuit in accordance with the law.
When handling cases of infringement of variety rights, the agricultural, rural, forestry and grassland authorities of the people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in order to safeguard the public interest, order the infringer to stop the infringing behavior and confiscate the illegal gains and plant variety breeding materials; if the value of the goods is less than RMB 50,000 , a fine of RMB 10,000 to RMB 250,000 shall be imposed; if the value of the goods is more than RMB 50,000 , a fine of not less than 5 times but not more than 10 times the value of the goods shall be imposed.
Article 42: If authorized varieties are counterfeited, the agricultural, rural, forestry and grassland authorities of the people’s government at or above the county level shall order the cessation of counterfeiting and confiscate the illegal gains and plant variety breeding materials; if the value of the goods is less than RMB 50,000, a fine of RMB 10,000 to RMB 250,000 shall be imposed; if the value of the goods is more than RMB 50,000 , a fine of not less than 5 times but not more than 10 times the value of the goods shall be imposed; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Article 43: When investigating and handling cases of infringement of variety rights and counterfeiting of authorized varieties, the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grasslands of the people’s governments at or above the county level have the right to take the following measures in accordance with the law:
(1) Entering production and operation sites for on-site inspection;
(2) sampling, testing, experimenting or inspecting the propagation materials or harvested materials of plant varieties;
(3) Review and copy contracts, bills, account books, production and operation files and other relevant materials related to the suspected illegal acts;
(4) Seizing and detaining plant variety propagation materials that have evidence of infringing variety rights or counterfeiting authorized varieties, as well as tools, equipment and means of transportation used to infringe variety rights or counterfeit authorized varieties;
(5) Seal off the premises where activities of infringing upon variety rights or counterfeiting authorized varieties are carried out.
When the agricultural, rural, forestry and grassland competent departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level exercise the powers prescribed in the preceding paragraph in accordance with the law, the parties shall assist and cooperate and shall not refuse or obstruct.
Article 44 If the parties have a dispute over the right to apply for a variety right and the ownership of the variety right, they may bring a lawsuit in accordance with the law.
Article 45 Where a person commits the following acts with respect to propagating materials or harvested materials without knowing that such acts infringe upon the variety rights, he shall not be liable for compensation if he can prove that they have a legal source:
(1) Processing for the purpose of reproduction by others;
(2) Promising to sell or selling;
(3) Storage for the purpose of carrying out the preceding two acts.
Article 46: Any staff member of the agricultural, rural, forestry and grassland administrative departments and relevant departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level who abuses his power, neglects his duties, engages in malpractice for personal gain, or solicits or accepts bribes shall be punished according to law; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.
Article 47 If any dishonest behavior such as deception, concealment, forgery, etc. occurs during the application process for variety rights, the competent departments of agriculture, rural affairs, forestry and grasslands of the State Council shall record it in the credit record of the relevant subject in accordance with relevant national regulations and make it public.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 48 The following terms in these Regulations have the following meanings:
(1) Propagation material refers to the whole plant or part of the plant that can be used for propagation, including seeds, fruits, roots, stems, seedlings, buds, leaves, flowers, etc.;
(2) Harvested material refers to the whole plant or part of the plant obtained after planting.
Article 49 This Regulation shall come into force on June 1 , 2025.
