WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE 
ORGANIZACION MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights IPINI1lESPIP/4 
20 February 1997 
(97-0692) 
Original: English! 
anglaisl 
ingles 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
The present document reproduces! the text of Law 12/1975, of 12 March 1975, on the Protection 
of New Varieties of Plants, as notified by Spain under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document 
IP/N/lIESP/lIRev.I). 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriete 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES A LA 
PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
Espagne 
Le present document contient le texte! de la Loi n° 12/1975 du 12 mars 1975 sur la protection 
des obtentions vegetales, notifiee par l'Espagne au titre de l'article 63:2 de l' Accord (voir le 
document IP/N/lIESP/lIRev.I). 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL PA.RRAFO 2 DEL ARTICULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
Espafia 
En elpresente documento se reproduce! el texto de laLey N° 12/1975, de 12 demarzo de 1975, 
de Protecci6n de las Obtenciones Vegetales notificada por Espafia en virtud del parrafo 2 del artIculo 63 
del Acuerdo (vease el documento IP/N/I/ESP/lIRev.I). 
iEnglish only/anglais seulement/ingles solamente. IP/N/I/ESP/P/4 
;Page 2 
Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
SPAIN 
LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF PLANT VARIETIES· 
(No. 12/1975 of March 12, 1975) 
I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS LAW 
Section 1 
The purpose of this Law is to recognize and to ensure to the breeder of a 
new plant variety protected by a "Plant Variety Title" and to his successor in 
title, a right, the content and conditions of exercise of which are defined in 
the following Sections. 
This Law may be applied to all botanical genera and species. 
11. DEFINITION OF THE PLANT VARIETIES 
COVERED BY THE PROTECTION AND DEFINITION OF THE BREEDER 
Section 2 
For the purpose of this Law, "plant variety" means any commercial variety 
(internationally known as a "cultivar"), clone, line, stock or hybrid that 
satisfies the conditions established in this Law. 
Section 3 
"Breeder" means any natural person or legal entity who proves that he is 
respons ible for any improvement, select ion or discovery by which a new plant 
variety has been obtained in compliance with the requirements established by 
this Law. 
Ill. CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR PROTECTION OF A PLANT VARIETY 
Section 4 
(1) For a variety to be eligible for protection under this Law it has to: 
* Spanish title: Ley 12/1975 de 12 de marzo de Protecci6n de las 
Obtenciones Vegetales 
Source: Boletin oficial del Estado No. 63, March 14/ 1975 IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
Page 3 
Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(a) be differentiated from existing varieties by one or more important 
morphological or physiological characteristics which fluctuate 
little and are susceptible of precise description and recognition; 
(b) be homogeneous in the totality of its characteristics, according to 
its system of reproduction or multiplication; 
(c) be stable in its essential characteristics, in other words, remain 
true to the definition given by the breeder at the end of each cycle 
of mUltiplication. 
(2) The verification of whether a variety meets the above conditions consti­
tutes the "preliminary examination" for which rules shall be made. 
(3) A variety shall not be considered new for the purposes of this Law when, 
at the time of the application for a "Plant Variety Title," it has already 
been marketed or offered for sale in Spain, with the authorization of the 
breeder or his successors in title, or more than four years previously in any 
foreign country, or where it has been the subject of sufficient advertising of 
any kind to be used. 
Similarly, the variety shall not be considered new if it is described in 
an application for a "Plant Variety Title," in a title that has not yet been 
published or in an application filed abroad that benefits from the priority 
provided for in Section 10(3) of this Law. 
In no case shall the sole fact that it has been recorded as such in an 
Official Register be regarded as destructive of novelty. 
(4) For the purposes of this Law, the following shall not be regarded as 
marketing: 
(a) presentation at contests, collections or exhibitions, insofar as no 
commercial transactions take place at them; 
(b) production and distribution on an experimental scale. 
IV. RIGHTS OF THE BREEDER 
Section 5 
(1) Any breeding of a new plant variety may be the subject matter of a "Plant 
Variety Title" which, on recording thereof in the Register of Protected Plant 
Varieties at the National Institute of Seeds and Nursery Plants, gives the 
holder the exclusive right to produce, introduce in the territorial area to 
which this Law appl ies, sell or offer for sale, or use by any means permis­
sible by law material for sexual reproduction or vegetative propagation. The 
breeder's right shall extend to plants or parts thereof normally marketed for 
purposes other than propagation, especially as regards the commercial produc­
t ion of ornamental plants or cut flowers, insofar as those plants or parts 
thereof are used as propagat ing mater ial. The breeder's right shall not be 
infr inged by the use made by a farmer, in his own farm, of seeds or any other 
plant material produced by him. IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(2) Author izat ion by the breeder or his successors in ti tle shall not be 
required either for the utilization of the new variety as an initial source of 
variation for the purpose of creating other new varieties or for the marketing 
of such varieties. 
(3) Authorization shall be required when the repeated or systematic use of the 
plants or parts thereof of the original variety is necessary for the commercial 
production of plants or propagating material of the new variety. 
Section 6 
(1) The grant and the benefits of the "Plant Variety Title" for a new variety 
may not be made subject to conditions other than those set forth in Sections 4, 
10 and 11 of this Law, insofar as the administrative formalities provided for 
in this Law and in rules made thereunder are complied with. 
(2) A "Plant Variety Title" shall be granted without prejudice to the rights 
of third parties and subject to the limitations established by this Law. Fail­
ure to observe those limitations shall render the Title null and void in accor­
dance with the provisions of Section 11 of this Law and, where appropriate, the 
cancellation of its registration in the Register of Protected Varieties at the 
National Institute of Seeds and Nursery Plants. 
(3) The holder of a "Plant Variety Title" may, after notification to the 
Registry of Protected Plant Var ieties, grant a license for the use of the 
variety covered by the said Title to any person who applies for one, subject 
to compliance with the conditions specified by the said holder and with any 
provisions on the subject in this Law and rules made thereunder. To this end, 
such contracts shall be registered at the National Institute of Seeds and 
Nursery Plants. 
(4) Where the holder of a "Plant Variety Ti tle" is an off icial body estab­
lished in Spain, it shall be obliged to grant a license for the use of the 
variety covered by the said Title to any person who applies for one and pre­
sents legal, technical and professional guarantees. Such license may in no 
case have exclusive character. Where the applicant for a license is a for­
eigner, the transaction shall be governed by the principle of reciprocity. 
Section 7 
(1) The Courts of Justice shall be competent in all questions relating to the 
ownership of a "Plant Variety Title." 
(2) The holder of a "Plant Variety Title" may institute civil or criminal 
proceedings before the Courts of Justice against any person who infringes the 
rights granted by this Law. 
(3) Legal proceedings concerning plant breeders' rights may only be instituted 
by one of the parties. 
(4) Plant breeders I rights are transferable by any means admi t ted in law, 
without prejudice to the limitations established by this Law; such transfer 
shall only be effective in relation to third parties when they have been 
recorded in the Register of Protected Plant Varieties. IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(5) Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the licensee may be party to legal 
proceedings to the same extent as the holder of a "Plant Variety Title" with­
out any formality other than notification in writing to the holder of having 
become a party to the legal proceedings, in the event that the latter should 
think it advisable to be a party. 
Section 8 
(1) The "Plant Variety Title" shall be granted by Order of the Ministry of 
Agr icul ture, on a proposal by the Central Board of the Nat ional Inst i tute of 
Seeds and Nursery Plants, pursuant to Section 16 of this Law. 
(2) The grant of a "Plant Variety Title" shall immediately give rise to an 
entry in the Register of Protected Plant Varieties at the National Institute 
of Seeds and Nursery Plants, which is mentioned in Law No. 11/1971, and to the 
inclusion of the variety in the list of protected varieties which shall be 
periodically published by the above-mentioned Institute in the "Boletin" 
mentioned in Section 17 of this Law. 
(3) The "Plant Variety Title" shall be provisional for two years, after which 
time it shall automatically become definitive if, within that two-year period, 
no objection is submitted to the act of making the said grant. Once defini­
tive, either because the provisional period has expired, or by decision made 
on the above-mentioned objection pursuant to Section 121 of the Law on Admin­
istrative Procedure, the appropriate legal proceedings may be brought. The 
provisional character of the Title, while in force, shall be clearly stated on 
any document, packaging or advertisement relating to the product covered by 
the said Ti tle. 
(4) During the period in which the Title is provisional, the breeder shall 
enjoy all the rights granted under this Law. The said period shall be includ­
ed, in each case, in the period of protection. 
Section 9 
(1) The rights conferred on the breeder of a new plant var iety shall be 
granted for a limited period, which may not be less than 15 years for herba­
ceous plants or 18 years for trees; this period shall run from the date of the 
grant of the "Plant Variety Title." 
(2) For each species or group of species the period of protection, which 
shall never exceed 20 years, shall be established by rules. 
Section 10 
(1) All foreign breeders shall enjoy the same rights as national breeders, 
provided that the legislation of their countries of origin applies the prin­
ciple of reciprocity or that other international agreements to which Spain is 
party establish such reciprocity. IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(2) The aforementioned foreign breeders shall, in their relations with the 
Spanish Public Administration and with the private producers or growers of the 
propagating material, be represented by a person lawfully resident in Spain, 
who shall be given sufficient authority to guarantee such commitments as the 
breeder or his successors in title may contract. The grant and the rights 
derived from it shall remain subject, in all cases, to the performance of the 
obligations of the Title holder. 
(3) When applying for a "Plant Variety Title," the applicant may claim the 
priority of any applications previously filed for the same plant variety in 
any State with which Spain has an agreement in this respect, on condition that 
the filing of the application in Spain takes place within a period of 12 months 
from the filing of the first application. 
Section 11 
(1) The "Plant Variety Title" shall be declared null and void: 
(a) when the Title holder does not have a right to obtain it according 
to the provisions laid down in Section 3 of this Law; 
(b) when the plant var iety 
granted does not meet 
Section 4 of this Law. in respect of which the Title has been 
the requirement of novelty laid down in 
(2) Action for nullity may be brought by any interested party during the 
entire period of protection afforded by the "Plant Variety Title." 
(3) The right of the breeder or his successors in title shall be extinguished 
in the following cases: 
(a) at the request of the Title holder himself; 
(b) when there has been a failure to maintain the conditions of 
homogeneity and stability laid down in Section 4 of this Law; 
(c) when neither the Title holder nor his licensees have reproductive 
or propagating material capable of producing the new variety, as 
defined when the "Plant Variety Title" was granted; 
(d) when neither the Title holder nor his licensees submit, within the 
required time limit, the reproductive or propagating material, or 
the informat ion or documents deemed necessary for examining the 
variety, or do not allow inspection of the measures which have been 
taken for the maintenance of the same variety, according to the 
requirements which shall be established by rules; 
(e) when the legally established fees have not been paid within the 
prescribed period or the requests for payment have not been met; 
(f) when the Title holder does not agree to grant a license to use the 
new variety, pursuant to Section 12(1) of this Law; 
(g) when an objection or administrative appeal, filed pursuant to 
Section 8(3) of this Law, has been upheld by a final and definitive 
decision; 
(h) when the period of time laid down by Section 8 of this Law expires. IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
Page 7 
Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(4) Upon the extinction, for whatever reason, of the right of the breeder or 
his successors in title, the plant variety protected by that right shall fall 
into the public domain. 
Section 12 
(I) The Ministry of Agr icul tu re shall be ent i tIed to order that a plant 
variety for which a "Plant Variety Title" has been granted shall be subject to 
compulsory licensing, in compliance with the conditions to be established by 
rules, either because of unjustified failure to use or because the public 
interest so dictates. 
(2) For the purposes of Subsection (1) of this Section, any person providing 
legal, technical and professional guarantees may apply to the Ministry of 
Agriculture for the grant of a compulsory license for use, which shall in no 
case be exclusive. 
(3) In case the licence for use referred to in the preceding Subsections is 
granted, the right of the breeder shall at all times be guaranteed. 
V. DENOMINATION OF VARIETIES 
Section 13 
(l) A new plant variety shall be given a single denominat ion which permi t s 
its identification. Such denomination shall be considered the generic desig­
nation of the variety. 
(2) The denomination of the new variety shall not be exclusively composed of 
figures, or be liable to mislead or cause confusion concerning its character­
istics, its usefulness or the identi ty of the breeder. It shall be different 
from every denomination which designates other existing varieties of the same 
or closely-related botanical species and be adapted to the provisions of the 
standards of nomenclature laid down by the rules and the international agree­
ments on this subject to which Spain is party. 
(3) A plant variety may not be denominated in a way different from that used 
in the first country in which it has been registered, except in the cases to 
be laid down in rules; in such cases, subject to approval, a translat ion of 
the original denomination or a different one may be used. 
Section 14 
(1) The denominat ion of a new plant variety shall be registered at the same 
time as the issuance of the "Plant Variety Title." 
(2) The breeder or his successor in title may not submit as the denomination 
of a new variety either a denomination already protected in Spain or in coun­
tries with which agreements on plant variety protection have been established, 
by a trademark relating to identical or similar products or a denomination IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
Page 8 
Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
liable to cause confusion wi th such a trademark, unless he undertakes to 
renounce his rights in the trademark as from the grant of the "Plant Variety 
Title." If the breeder or his successor in title nevertheless submits such a 
denomination, he may not, as from the time when the "Plant Variety Title" is 
registered, continue to exercise his rights under the trademark in respect of 
the products specified, unless international agreements require otherwise. 
(3) If the denomination submitted by the breeder or his successor in title 
does not satisfy the requirements laid down by this Law, the Ministry of 
Agriculture shall request that a new denomination be proposed. 
(4) Before a "Plant Variety Title" is entered in the Register of Protected 
Plant Varieties at the National Institute of Seeds and Nursery Plants, the 
denomination submitted for the new plant variety shall be notified to the 
Industrial Property Registry, in order that the latter may report on it. 
(5) The denomination given to a protected plant variety may not be registered 
as a trademark. 
(6) Notwithstanding the foregoing Paragraph, it shall be permitted, for 
marketing purposes, to add a trademark to the denomination of the new plant 
variety, if the breeder owns the trademark or is authorized to use it. 
VI. BODY IN CHARGE OF PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION 
Section 15 
The functions entrusted to the Ministry of Agriculture under this Law 
shall be exercised by the Nat ional Institute of Seeds and Nursery Plants, 
established by Law No. 11/1971 of March 3D, 1971. 
Section 16 
The Commission of Plant Variety Protection, established within the Central 
Board of the National Institute of Seeds and Nursery Plants, organized by Law 
No. 11/1971 of March 30, 1971, shall be composed as follows: 
President: the President of the Central Board of the National Institute 
of Seeds and Nursery Plants; 
Vice-President: the Director of the National Institute of Seeds and 
Nursery Plants; 
Legal Adviser: the Head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of 
Agriculture; 
Technical Advisers: persons wi th recognized competence in botany, gene­
tics, reproduction of seeds and nursery plants and legal problems relating to 
plant variety protection, appointed by the President; 
Members: those members of the Central Board appointed by its President, 
among whom there shall be a representative of the National Institute of Agrar­
ian Research and two agrarian representatives of the Trade Union Organization; .. 
IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
Secretary: the Technical Administrator of Laboratories and Registers of 
Protected Commercial Varieties. 
The Commission of Plant Variety Protection shall: 
(a) propose to the Minister for Agriculture, through the Central Board 
of the Institute, the issuance, revocation, declaration of lapse 
and, if appropriate, annulment of "Plant Variety Titles"; 
(b) propose to the Minister for Agriculture, through the Central Board 
of the Institute, the measures and rules intended for the protection 
of breeders' rights; 
(c) propose rules for the application of breeders' rights to the diffe­
rent genera or species; 
(d) report on matters concerning plant variety protection submitted by 
the President for study; 
(e) carry out any other tasks which may be entrusted to it by any law 
or rules. 
Section 17 
(1) The National Institute of Seeds and Nursery Plants shall periodically 
publish a Boletin del Registro de Variedades Protegidas, in which applications 
for registration, denominations submitted and denominations approved shall be 
recorded, as well as the grant of "Plant Variety Titles" and other non-confi­
dential information, in order to ensure better public knowledge of the area 
concerned. 
(2) It shall also issue such reports as are requested of it by the Courts of 
Justice concerning breeders' rights. 
VII. INFRINGEMENT AND PENALTIES 
Section 18 
Cl) For the purposes of Section 7, any person who infringes breeders' rights 
in any of the following ways shall incur civil liability, and be obliged in 
all cases to furnish compensation for the damage and loss caused thereby: 
(a) producing for commercial purposes or marketing reproductive material 
of the protected plant var iety, in disregard of the provisions of 
Section 5 ( 1 ) i 
(b) marketing plants or parts thereof normally marketed for purposes 
other than propagation, if they are then used as propagating 
material, in disregard of the provisions of Section 5(1); 
(c) repeatedly using reproductive material of a protected plant variety 
for the production of propagating material of a new plant variety; 
(d) contracting for the transport of the propagating material of a pro­
tected plant variety to a territory outside the scope of application 
of this Law, without special authorization from the Title holder. IP/N/1/ESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(2) All those making any other use of the protected plant var iety or those 
who in any other way infringe the breeders' rights granted by this Law shall 
be obliged to furnish compensation for the damage and loss caused thereby only 
when their conduct involves fault or negligence. The existence of fault shall 
be presumed from the time when the person responsible for such acts has been 
warned by the holder of the "Plant Variety Title" about the existence of the 
same and required to cease infringing the said Title. 
(3) The compensation for damage and loss in favor of the holder of the "Plant 
Variety Title" shall include not only the amount of the loss and of the profit 
which would otherwise have been obtained, but also damages for the loss of the 
goodwill attaching to the plant var iety caused by inadequate use made by the 
infringer. 
(4) The relevant general legislation on limitation of actions shall apply to 
the civil action for compensatiofi of damage and loss. 
(5) In addition to compensation for damage and loss, the injured Title holder 
shall be entitled to: 
(a) the cessation of the act infringing his right; 
(b) the withdrawal from circulation of all the plant material obtained 
through illegal acts that is in the possession of any of the persons 
responsible, and its destruction if this is indispensable; 
(c) reversion to himself, as his own property, of the plant material 
referred to in the last-mentioned Paragraph, in which case allowance 
for its value shall be made in calculating the compensation for 
damage and loss. If the value of the above-mentioned plant material 
exceeds the compensation to be granted, the injured Title holder 
shall compensate the infringer for the excess; 
(d) the publication of the judgment, at the expense of the losing 
party, in the "Boletin" referred to in Section 17 of this Law. 
Section 19 
(1) Any willful infringement of the exclusive right given by the "Plant 
Variety Title" to its holder shall be punished according to the provisions of 
Section 534 of the Criminal Code. 
(2) Criminal proceedings may only be brought by the injured Title holder or 
his licensee, or his successors in title. 
(3) The relevant general legislation shall apply to criminal proceedings and 
to the civil action resulting from the crime. 
Section 20 
(1) Acts carried out that are not in compliance with the provisions of this 
Law and the rules made thereunder shall be considered administrative offenses 
and shall be punished according to the following Sections, without prejudice 
to the competence of the Courts of Justice, as regards the civil or criminal 
liabilities resulting from these acts. IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
Administrative offenses shall be categorized according to the nature of 
tloe acts concerned; they may be fraudulent, clandestine or against the rules. 
(3) The following shall be considered fraudulent: 
(a) acts of assignment of plant material which, while purporting to be 
protected by a "Plant Var iety Title," do not correspond to the 
features recorded in the Register of Protected Plant Varieties; 
(b) acts of noncompliance, imputable to any of the interested parties, 
with the conditions included in the license to use a protected 
plant variety and affecting the intrinsic qualities of the material 
and the circumstances upon which the decision to issue the "Plant 
Variety Title" was based. 
(4) Those acts which evade or at tempt to evade or make diff icul t the super­
vision of the activities governed by this Law and the observance of the rules 
established under the Law for its successful application and financial via­
bility shall be considered clandestine. 
(5) Any other offense shall be considered merely against the rules. 
Section 21 
The laws and rules on the suppression of fraud in respect of agricultural 
products or of materials necessary for agriculture shall apply as subsidiary 
legislation. 
Section 22 
(l) Fraudulent offenses shall be punished with fines of between 20,000 and 
100,000 pesetas; the expenses incurred in the verification of the fraud shall 
be borne by the offender and, where appropriate, the plant material giving 
rise to the fine shall be confiscated. 
(2) Clandestine offenses shall be punished with fines of between 10,000 and 
50,000 pesetas and by the confiscation of the merchandise. 
(3) Qffenses which are merely against the rules shall be punished with fines 
of between 1,000 and 25,000 pesetas. 
Section 23 
The determination, within given limits, of the amounts of the fines estab­
lished in the last-mentioned Section, shall be fixed in each case according to 
the importance of the offense, the injury caused, the degree of bad faith on 
the part of the infr inger, his behavior and his previous record and, in 
general, any circumstances which render him the more or the less responsible. 
Section 24 
(1) In the case of a second offense, the fines shall be 50 percent higher than 
those applicable under this Law. IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(2) Should the person committing a second offense have committed a clandestine 
or fraudulent offense, the fines may be raised to three times those applicable, 
and the suspension of the activity in relation to which the offense arose may 
be ordered for a period of up to one year. 
(3) A person who has, within the preceding five years, been punished for 
disregarding the provisions of this Law shall be considered a second offender. 
(4) The Ministry of Agriculture may decide, if appropriate, on the publication 
of sanctions imposed in the Official Journal, for exemplary purposes. 
VIII. FEES 
Section 25 
Fees for the Protection of Plant Varieties shall be payable. They shall 
be subject to the legislation contained in the Law of December 26, 1958, on 
Fees and Parafiscal Levies, the Consolidated Taxation Law of December 28, 
1963, and the additional provisions under those Laws, and shall be governed by 
the provisions of this Law. 
Section 26 
For the purposes of the fees established in the aforementioned Section, 
the plant species or groups thereof which are subject to protection shall be 
divided into the following groups: 
First group: cereals, oil seeds, lucerne, cotton, sugar and fodder beet, 
vetch, potato, pea, broad bean and French bean; 
Second group: fruit trees, rose, carnation and strawberry; 
Third group: lettuce, tomato, onion, melon, sainfoin, red clover and 
white clover; 
Fourth group: the other species not included in the above-mentioned groups. 
Section 27 
(A) The following fees shall be paid for the 
according the types which are also included: [not 
tariff of fees is amended occasionally]. services listed below, 
reproduced here; the 
(B) The natural persons or legal entities who receive either from the 
Public Administration or from the Registry of Protected Plant Varieties any of 
the services listed in the preceding Subsections, whatever the nature of their 
request, shall be obliged to pay the fees. 
(C) The fees shall be payable when the appropriate services are 
requested. When these services are rendered without the need for a prior 
request, the fees shall be payable at the time of their execution. IP/N/lIESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(D) The amount collected in fees shall be paid to the Public Treasury, 
according to provisions to be established in rules, for its inclusion in the 
State General Budget. 
(E) The Ministry of Finance shall be the body responsible for all 
matters appertaining to the fees; it may decide that the computing, notifica­
tion, and collection of such fees be performed by the Ministry of Agriculture 
and, within that Ministry, by the National Institute of Seeds and Nursery 
Plants. 
IX. PROCEDURE AND APPEALS 
Section 28 
(1) The procedure to be followed for the processing of the dossiers governed 
by this Law shall be that established in the Law on Administrative Procedure 
of July 17, 1958, which shall also regulate the appeals which interested 
parties may bring against any act or decision pronounced. 
(2) It shall be a function of the National Institute of Seeds and Nursery 
Plants to collect all available evidence and information on dossiers likely to 
involve a decision imposing a fine and to formulate proposals as to how 
dossiers should be decided, doing so on its own initiative or pursuant to a 
request from the interested parties or from the competent authorities. 
(3) The decision shall be taken by: 
(a) the Service for Defense against Frauds and for Agricultural 
Analyses, when the amount of the fine is not over 25,000 pesetas; 
(b) the competent Director General, when the amount of the fine is over 
25,000 and does not exceed 50,000 pesetas; 
(c) the Minister for Agriculture, when the amount of the fine is over 
50,000 pesetas. 
(4) The limitation period for infringement of this Law shall be five years 
from when they are committed. 
ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS 
(1) Article 48 of the Royal Decree-Law of July 26, 1929, on Industrial 
Property is hereby completed as follows: 
"A patent shall not be granted for the following: 
7) plant var iet ies which can benefi t from the protection system 
established by the Law on the Protection of Plant Varieties." IP/N/1/ESP/P/4 
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Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
(2) The amounts of the fines established in absolute quantities in pesetas 
may be revised by the Government, through the application of coefficients of 
correction, according to the average price of the objects or products in 
question. 
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 
(1) The breeder of a plant variety which is no longer new at the time when 
protection of a corresponding species is established may, in the following 
instances and in accordance with this Law, request the protection of his 
rights: 
(a) if a patent has been granted for a plant variety in Spain or in any 
other country with which an international agreement on the protec­
tion of breeders' rights has been established; 
(b) if a "Plant Var iety Title" has 
countries with which Spain has 
protection of breeders' rights; been issued in any country 
establ ished an agreement on or 
the 
(c) if the plant variety has been registered in a list of commercial 
varieties officially published in Spain. In this case, the 
applicat ion for the protect ion of rights for this plant var iety 
shall be submitted within a period of twelve months from the time 
of entry into force of the Rules mentioned in the first final 
provision for the genera, species or group of species to which this 
plant variety belongs. 
(2) The "Plant Variety Title" for varieties shall be effective as from the 
date of filing of the application. The period of time elapsed after the 
filing of an application for a patent, or after the grant of a "Plant Variety 
Title" or after its registration in the List of Commercial Varieties, shall, 
where the conditions set forth in Paragraph (c) of the first Transitional 
Provision have been compl ied with and where the other cases provided for in 
the said provision are applicable, be deducted from the period of protection. 
(3) Plant varieties that were being marketed before this Law came into force 
may continue to be freely produced and offered for sale, as long as the breeder 
does not make use of the right granted to him by the first Transitional 
Provision. 
(4) Until the additional provlslons for the application of these Rules to the 
various species or groups of species enter into force, the system of protection 
applicable to them shall continue to be that contained in the Law on Industrial 
Property. IP/N/I/ESP/P/4 
Page 15 
Plant Variety Protection -No. 67 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
1. This Law shall be applicable to the entire national territory. The 
Government shall, within a period of one year from the publication of this Law, 
and on a proposal of the competent Ministries, establish the Rules for imple­
menting this Law; in these Rules the administrative provisions in force on 
matters concerning this Law shall be included. 
2. The provisions necessary for the entry into force of this Law, as regards 
each genera and species or group of species, which shall be set forth in rules, 
shall be established by the Ministry of Agriculture. 