Sale and use of your protected variety


A sale is defined as the supply of propagating or harvested material in exchange for money or goods, by way of let or barter (including services), provided that it is done with the consent of the breeder.

It is not relevant whether or not the exchange occurs privately, to the public, to wholesalers, in small numbers or below market value.

In certain circumstances, some activities relating to the exchange or disposal of materials derived from multiplying and evaluating the variety are not considered as a sale.

Read more about sales in our case study - Clarification of 'sale' through a Federal court case.

Time limits for sales

A requirement for PBR is that the variety has not or has been only recently exploited.

A plant variety is taken not to have been exploited if, at the date of lodging the application for PBR, propagating or harvested material of the variety has not been sold to another person outside the specified time periods:

  • Sale in Australia is permitted for up to one year prior to applying for PBR
  • Sale overseas is permitted for up to four years (or six years for tree and vine varieties) prior to applying for PBR.

If you are unsure

If you are unsure about whether a specific activity constitutes a sale, you should seek professional advice before embarking on any substantive action.

Last Updated: 25/10/2011