Estados Unidos de América

Montenegro

Patentes (incluida la protección de variedades vegetales)

1. Article 27(3) of the TRIPS Agreement provides that Members are not required to provide patent protection for plant varieties, but that if such protection is not afforded, then an effective sui generis system is required. It is noted that Montenegro's patent law precludes patent protection for plants. How does Montenegro provide intellectual property protection for plants?

Montenegro provides protection for new plant varieties under the UPOV system of special protection (sui generis) which it has chosen in accordance with the options of the World Trade Organisation and the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) under which it is required that all Member States of the WTO must provide the protection of plant varieties through patents or sui generis system (such as UPOV), or a combination thereof. During the process of accession to the WTO and EU, Montenegro has adopted the Law on Protection of Plant Varieties ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 48/07 and "Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 48/08), which for the first time regulates the area of protection of intellectual property rights of breeders, creators of plant varieties, regulates the terms and procedures for the protection of plant varieties as well as rights and obligations of the holders of plant breeders’ rights. State authority in charge of direct implementation and activities in this area is Phytosanitary Administration of Montenegro, Department for Seeds and Planting Material, Protection of Plant Varieties and GMO, and is in charge of administrative activities, development of legislation and international relations in this area.