This Order, which extends to Scotland only, comes into force on 4th November 2005.

This Order discontinues the prior use exemption in section 9(5) of the Plant Varieties Act 1997 (the “1997 Act”) whereby in relation to varieties farm-saved prior to the 1997 Act coming into force (8th May 1998) a farmer is exempted from the liability under section 9(3) of the 1997 Act to pay to the holder of plant variety rights a “sensibly lower” royalty than would otherwise be payable for the use of a protected variety of farm-saved seed (article 2).

No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in respect of this Order.