The Indonesian Plant Varieties Protection Act : The Dilemma of Meeting International and Bilateral Obligations and Protecting Traditional Farmers
Plant variety protection is a relatively new concept for many Indonesians. It was developed because of the patent regime's failure to provide appropriate protection for new plant varieties. This new sui generis legislation for the protection of plant varieties was enacted in response to Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement, which requires WTO Members to provide an effective sui generis law for the protection of new plant varieties. This paper analyses the current state of plant variety protection in Indonesia. It covers the threshold of protection, the subject, scope, right and obligation of breeders, exceptions to infringement, farmers' rights and local varieties. It also analyses the current policy to revise the Plant Variety Protection Act and the underlying reasons for this, including Indonesia's national interest and its international and bilateral commitments. The main focus of the paper explores why such policy is not broadly compatible with the Indonesian agricultural tradition of seed sharing. Accordingly, this paper explores the tradition of seed sharing in Indonesian culture known as adat. In addition, it explores the likely implication of such protection for national agricultural innovation.