Coming events
The
Melbourne Orchid Spectacular 2008
Gem
Clearance
Nov 16, 17 & 18 2007
Department
Links
Link to our new Gem and Fossil site
Crystal-world.com
Plant Breeders Rights
PBR
These pages are brought to you by Collectors Corner
In the past few years a number of laws have been passed that allow plants to be controlled under a system similar to patents of intellectual properties. This new system now allows individuals and corporations to effectively control the release of new material. While these laws may seem archaic to plant growers who are used to propagating their own plants by taking cuttings, it must be remembered that plant breeders may sometimes devote years if not decades into developing new and different plant varieties and without PBR their efforts will bear no fruit.
The instigation of PBR has also meant that huge sums of money are now being invested world wide into plant research and development and in the coming years we will all benefit by a far greater range of products being available. In effect, an entire new industry is being created with the potential of allowing large amounts of funds to be available for research and development, a side of this industry that was well below that of other industries in the past.
All too often in the past, plant breeders could only maintain control over new releases for more than a few months as other propagators would build up stocks of the same plant and undercut the original breeders price or flood the market. To make any significant profit from a newly bred variety prior to PBR legislation was a very expensive exercise that was only possible by large nurseries with overseas contacts. Most breeders therefore experienced returns below the true value of their creations and therefore stifled the creation of new plants.