Plant Varieties Protection Act · 2022 Revised Edition · Part · Assistance by Border Authorities
55. Actions for infringement of grant of protection
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
The Court in which an infringement action is pending may, on the application of a person having a sufficient interest in the subject matter of the action, allow the person to be joined as a defendant to the action.
An authorised officer is entitled to be heard on the hearing of an infringement action.
authorised officer
“authorised officer” means — (a) an officer of customs as defined in section 2 of the Customs Order, 2006; (b) any officer or class or description of officers appointed by the Attorney General by notification published in the Gazette to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on an authorised officer by this Part;
In addition to any relief that may be granted apart from this section, the Court may —
at any time, order that the seized goods be released to the importer subject to such conditions, if any, as the Court thinks fit;
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order that the seized goods not be released to the importer before the end of a specified period; or
order that the seized goods be forfeited to the Government.
A Court may not make an order under subsection (3)(a) if it is satisfied that the Government or any statutory authority is required or permitted under any other written law to retain control of the seized goods.
The Controller shall comply with an order made under subsection (3).
Controller
“Controller” has the same meaning assigned to it as in section 2 of the Customs Order, 2006;
If —
the action is dismissed or discontinued, or if the Court decides that the relevant protected plant variety was not infringed by the importation of the seized goods; and
a defendant to the infringement action satisfies the Court that he has suffered loss or damage as a result of the seizure of the goods, the Court may order the objector to pay compensation in such amount as the
Court thinks fit to that defendant.
Terms defined in this Act
authorised officer
Defined · s 46“authorised officer” means — (a) an officer of customs as defined in section 2 of the Customs Order, 2006; (b) any officer or class or description of officers appointed by the Attorney General by notification published in the Gazette to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on an authorised officer by this Part;
Controller
Defined · s 46“Controller” has the same meaning assigned to it as in section 2 of the Customs Order, 2006;
grant of protection
Defined · s 2“grant of protection” means a grant of protection made by the Registrar under section 20;
infringement action
Defined · s 46“infringement action” means an action for an infringement in respect of a grant of protection;
objector
Defined · s 46“objector”, in relation to particular seized goods, means the person who gave the notice under section 47 as a result of the giving of which the goods were seized;
plant
Defined · s 2“plant” includes all fungi and algae but does not include bacteria, bacteroids, mycoplasmas, viruses, viroids and bacteriophages;
variety
Defined · s 2“variety” means a plant grouping within single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of breeder’s right are fully met, can be — (a) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes; (b) distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one said characteristics; and (c) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.
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