Plant variety rights
The plant variety rights to all potato seed lines are owned by someone, or some company, somewhere in the world. This means they have exclusive commercial rights to sell, and propagate for sale, that plant. Whenever a potato seed grower buys a particular seed, a royalty is paid to whoever owns the rights to that plant.
If you would like to find out who owns the plant variety rights to a particular breed of potato, go to:
- Plant variety rights section of the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) website
- Click on "Search for plant variety rights"
- Go to the "Genus" field
- Scroll down to "Solanum Tuberosum" (the scientific name for potatoes)
- Go to "Common Name" - find the entry for "Potato"
- Potato varieties are listed alphabetically and include the owner's name
- Click on the blue number in the left hand column (for example, Agria is POT014) to access the owner's full contact details and when their rights expire.
If you would like more information about Plant Variety Rights and protecting the intellectual property rights around new plant varieties, visit the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), of which New Zealand is a member.
