Time and costs
Time and costs for registration of plant breeder's rights vary dependent on the plant variety being applied for.
Plant breeders need to take these times and costs into account when planning. For a full list of fees, costs, expenses and allowances see Fees and costs.
Applications
PBR registration takes about 2.5 years for most species (but can take more than 10 years, depending on the species).
For the full schedule of standard fees and variations, see fees for plant breeder's rights.
Application Part 1
After acceptance of your submission of your Part 1 application, your plant variety is covered by provisional protection against infringement and you have a minimum of 12 months to submit your Part 2 application. A fee is payable at time of filing Part 1 of your application.
Application Part 2
Ongoing protection through 'full' registration has a further cost. (Discounts are available for multiple applications.) You may incur other costs by hiring a consultant qualified person to help you with your application.
A certificate fee is payable within 6 month of your application being published.
Ongoing registration
For the rest of the protection period, an annual registration renewal fee is payable.
Length of protection
Once full protection has been awarded, it lasts for up to:
- 25 years for trees or Grape vines
- 20 years for other species
This is provided you pay the maintenance fee and obey any conditions that may be placed on the variety.
Once PBR has expired, the variety reverts to the public domain and is available to everybody. The limited duration of PBR rights ensures a balance between private and public interest.
Last Updated: 07/1/2013
eServices is our online system you can use to apply for a PBR. If you don't want to apply online, we also have forms for you to use