New Zealand Legislation: Acts
Acts are laws made by Parliament
(1) The Commissioner shall—
(a) subject to sections 11 and 31(2), make a grant in respect of every application that is eligible for the making of a grant; and
(b) decline to make a grant in respect of every application that is not eligible for the making of a grant.
(2) An application shall be eligible for the making of a grant if, and only if, the applicant has given the Commissioner all reproductive material of the variety concerned requested by the Commissioner, and the Commissioner—
(a) has approved for that variety a denomination proposed by the applicant; and
(b) is satisfied that that applicant is an owner of that variety; and
(c) has received the prescribed fee; and
(d) is satisfied that that variety is new, distinct, homogeneous, and stable.
(3) The Commissioner shall approve a proposed denomination for a variety if, and only if, in the opinion of the Commissioner, it complies with the prescribed requirements.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(d),—
(a) subject to subsection (6), a variety is new if there has been no sale of that variety with the agreement of any relevant owner of that variety—
(i) in New Zealand, for more than 12 months before the date on which that application was made; and
(ii) overseas, for more than 6 years before that date in the case of a woody plant, or for more than 4 years before that date in every other case:
(b) a variety is distinct if it is distinguishable by 1 or more characteristics from any other variety whose existence was a matter of common knowledge when the application concerned was made.
(c) a variety is stable if, in its essential characteristics, it remains true to its description—
(i) where the applicant concerned has described particular cycles of reproduction or multiplication for that variety, at the end of each such cycle; and
(ii) in every other case, after repeated propagation or reproduction.
(5) In determining, for the purposes of subsection (2)(d), whether or not the Commissioner is satisfied that a variety is homogeneous, the Commissioner shall have regard to the particular features of its sexual reproduction or vegetative propagation (whichever is applicable to it).
(6) Where, to increase the stock of a variety or for evaluation trials or tests of a variety, its owner makes arrangements under which—
(a) reproductive material of that variety is to be sold to or used by some other person; and
(b) any unused portion of that reproductive material, and all the material of any sort produced from that reproductive material, is—
(i) to be sold to that owner, by that other person; or
(ii) otherwise to become the property of that owner,—
for the purposes of subsection (4)(a), no account shall be taken of any sale under that arrangement of—
(c) reproductive material of that variety by that owner to that other person; or
(d) material of any sort of that variety by that other person to that owner.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (2)(d), a variety does not cease to be new by virtue only of the sale at any time of—
(a) material that is not reproductive material; or
(b) reproductive material disposed of for purposes other than reproduction,—
that, having been produced during the breeding, increase of stock, tests, or trials, of that variety, is not (or no longer) required for any of those activities.
(8) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b), the characteristics by which a variety may be distinguished from others may be morphological, physiological, or of any other kind or description, so long as those characteristics are capable of precise description and recognition.
Compare: 1973 No 37 s 15(1)
