A new law on plant varieties has been enacted by the Mexican Government under the name of Federal Law on Plant Varieties. This law entered into force on October 26, 1996. The basic provisions are as follows:

1.- DURATION OF PROTECTION:

a) 18 years for perennial species (forest, fruits, grapes, ornamental
plants) and their graft carriers, and

b) 15 years for any other plant species not included in the above paragraph.


2.- REGISTRABILITY:

A breeder's right certificate will be issued on a plant variety, provided that:

I) It is new. A plant variety will fulfill this provision when:

a) The variety or its propagation material have not been marketed in Mexico before a period of one year prior to the application date;

b) The plant variety or its propagation material have not been marketed in other countries before a period of six years as of the filing of the application for perennial plants, or of four years for the other species.

II) It is distinctive. The plant variety will have this characteristic when it may be technically and clearly distinguished from any other known variety in view of one or more pertinent characters.

III) It is stable. That is, that the plant variety preserve its pertinent characters unaltered after successive reproductions or propagations.

IV) It is homogeneous. That is, the plant variety must be sufficiently uniform in its pertinent characters, except for the forseeable variation due to its sexual reproduction or vegetative multiplication.

3.- The information required for filing an application is as follows:

1) Origin (Indicating parent varieties)

2) Information about the genotechnical method for obtaining the plant variety.
3) Process to be used in the preservation of the varietal identity.

4) Resistance to pest and diseases.

5) Transgenic material. (Yes or No). In case affirmative, indicate if the variety has a phytosanitary certificate.

6) Indicate if the characterization of the variety was effected under controlled conditions and where (place, average temperature, weather, duration of the evaluation).

7) Varieties used as reference during the characterization.

8) Type of the variety and endogamy level.

The content of this article is intended only to provide general guidelines related to this particular matter. For your specific circumstances, full specialist advice is recommended.