New website: PBR and intellectual property information

By IP Australia

IP Australia is the Government agency responsible for Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR) in Australia – a type of intellectual property that people can register to protect their new plant varieties. We have recently launched a brand-new website which includes refreshed information about PBR.

PBR gives exclusive commercial rights for a registered plant variety. People apply to protect different things, like food crops that are drought or disease resistant or produce higher yields, or beautiful new ornamental plants for homes and gardens.

Intellectual property rights support plant breeders getting a return on their investment and can lead to more new varieties of plants being bred in the future.

A PBR does not just matter to the person or business who owns the rights – it is also important for others across the greenlife industries. There are many people who do not breed or register new varieties under PBR themselves, but who purchase, license, grow or otherwise interact with PBR varieties registered by other people.

So, while you may not need to be an expert in the topic, a little bit of familiarity can go a long way!

We have recently launched a brand-new website with refreshed information about PBR. It includes some helpful tips for the industry introducing the basics of PBR, labelling and the PBR symbol and how to search for more information about existing PBRs.

We are also inviting your feedback to help continue to improve our website and information we make available.

Have a look and let us know what you think! IP Australia is also always available to answer all your PBR related questions, so if there is anything you would like to understand more, get in touch with us now.