Plant Breeders' Rights Act, 1976 (Act No. 15 of 1976)

8. Priority and redating of applications
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(1)The effective date of an application in terms of section 7 shall be the date on which it is received by the registrar, and if more than one application in respect of the same variety is received, priority shall be given by the registrar in accordance with the regulations.

[Section 8(1) substituted by section 6 of Act No. 5 of 1980]

 

(2)If an application in terms of section 7 is preceded by an application by or on behalf of the same applicant for protection of the same variety in a convention country or an agreement country and the last-mentioned application has been deposited in accordance with the laws in force in that country, the registrar shall, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, give priority to the first-mentioned application if—
(a)it is submitted to the registrar in the prescribed manner within a period of 12 months of the date on which such preceding application was duly deposited in a convention country or an agreement country;

[Section 8(2)(a) substituted by section 6(b) of Act No. 15 of 1996]

(b)it is accompanied by a claim in respect of the priority thereof; and
(c)it is accompanied by the prescribed application fee.

[Section 8(2) substituted by  section 6(a) of Act No. 15 of 1996]

 

(3)A claim referred to in subsection (2)(b) shall within the prescribed period, which shall not be less than three months, of the date on which it was submitted to the registrar, be confirmed by lodging with the registrar a copy, certified as correct by the appropriate authority in the convention country or agreement country in question, of each document which constituted the relevant preceding application.

[Section 8(3) substituted by  section 6(c) of Act No. 15 of 1996]

 

(4)An application given priority under subsection (2) shall, within the prescribed period, which shall not be less than two years, reckoned from the date on which the period of 12 months contemplated in subsection (2) expired, be confirmed by supplementing it in any respect necessary in order to comply with the requirements of this Act.

[Section 8(4) substituted by  section 6(c) of Act No. 15 of 1996]

 

(5)If two or more applications for the protection of the same variety have been deposited on different dates in different convention countries or agreement countries, the period referred to in subsection (2)(a) shall be calculated from the date on which the earliest of such applications was deposited with the appropriate authority.

[Section 8(5) substituted by  section 6(c) of Act No. 15 of 1996]

 

(6)If the registrar has given priority to an application under subsection (2), no matter referred to in section 2(4) which occurs within the period referred to in subsection (2)(a) of this section, shall constitute aground of objection to such application.

 

(7)Any priority given to an application under subsection (2) shall lapse if any document referred to in subsection (3) or (4) is not submitted within the relevant period.

 

(8)Where an application for a plant breeder's right has been received by the registrar and a new application in respect of any part of the subject-matter of the first-mentioned application is made by the same applicant before a plant breeder's right has been granted, the registrar may direct that the new application be antedated to a date not earlier than the date on which such first-mentioned application was received by him.

 

(9)Where an application received by the registrar is amended otherwise than by way of explanation or correction before the application is published in terms of section 13, the registrar may direct that the date of the application shall be the date on which it is amended or, if it has been returned to the applicant, the date on which it is again received by the registrar.