[Article / Patents] The future of customs and plant breeders’ rights (Reiko Tonomura, Patent, September 2024)
更新日：28 分前
Article information
Article type: Publication review
Display and classification checked: 2026-09-30
Categories: Other Japanese law
Topics: Plant variety rights / Border enforcement / Exhaustion and parallel imports
Published on this website: 2026-09-29
[Article / Patents] The future of customs and plant breeders’ rights (Reiko Tonomura, Patent, September 2024)
1. Key points of the 2020 amendment to the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act: Introduction of export restrictions
(1) Designated-country system (notification of export restrictions): The breeder’s right holder notifies in advance the countries to which propagating material may be taken. Taking it to other countries constitutes infringement in principle.
(2) Mandatory labeling: Seed and seedling businesses must indicate overseas transfer restrictions on packaging and the like to prevent unintended infringement.
2. Future customs procedures and improved effectiveness
(1) Use of DNA-based variety identification: DNA testing is a lifeline for plants difficult to distinguish by appearance.
(2) Technological progress: Rapid, accurate identification techniques for tea, apples, grapes, citrus and others. Development is progressing on rapid test kits, such as SNP markers usable in the field.
(3) Establishment of a plant breeders’ rights management organization.
3. Issues of parallel imports and reimports
More products produced under license overseas by Japanese companies are expected to be reimported into Japan.
Exhaustion of rights: Further discussion will address when reimports constitute “infringement,” referring to the BBS patent decision and Fred Perry trademark decision while considering interpretations specific to breeders’ rights, such as treatment of unauthorized propagation.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7510493266568601600/
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Updates and corrections
This log starts on 30 September 2026. Display and classification checks are distinct from a review of the legal analysis.
2026-09-30 — Presentation update: added the article type, this change log and a link to consultation options. The existing article text was preserved.
2026-10-01 | Name notation: replaced verified Japanese-script personal names with Roman-letter forms in this English article and its navigation. Legal analysis and original publication date unchanged.
