The Breeder's Exemption Under the 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Plant Varieties and the Convention on Biological Diversity and Its Nagoya Protocol

The 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV 1991) provides for a breeder’s exemption allowing the protected plant variety to be used to breed new varieties. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol provide a scheme for access plant materials (genetic resources) that might be used for breeding new varieties and details an obligation to share any benefits. This article shows that while the CBD and Nagoya Protocol and UPOV 1991 operate separately, in their implementation in domestic laws the CBD/Nagoya Protocol access and benefit-sharing contracts can limit the UPOV 1991’s breeder’s exemption, restricting further breeding of new varieties.