http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/66/section/15Plant Varieties Act 1997An Act to make provision about rights in relation to plant varieties; to make provision about the Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal; to extend the time limit for institution of proceedings for contravention of seeds regulations; and for connected purposes.1997-11-27texttext/xmlenStatute Law Database2026-04-15Expert Participation2026-03-17 Plant Varieties Act 1997Blanket amendmentThe Treaty of Lisbon (Changes in Terminology) Order 2011art. 3 6art. 3(2)art. 3(3) 4(2) 6(4)(5)art. 2 Part I151This section applies to any proceedings for the infringement of plant breeders’ rights as respects any product made directly from harvested material.2If, in any proceedings to which this section applies, the holder of the plant breeders’ rights proves, in relation to any product to which the proceedings relate—athat it has been the subject of an information notice given to the defendant by or on behalf of the holder, andbthat the defendant has not, within the prescribed time after the service of the notice, supplied the holder with the information about it requested in the notice,then, as regards the product in relation to which the holder proves that to be the case, the presumptions mentioned in subsection (3) below shall apply, unless the contrary is proved or the defendant shows that he had a reasonable excuse for not supplying the information.3The presumptions are—athat the harvested material from which the product was made was obtained through unauthorised use of propagating material,bthat the holder did not have a reasonable opportunity before the harvested material was obtained to exercise his rights in relation to the unauthorised use of the propagating material, andcthat no relevant act was done, before the product was made, as respects the harvested material from which it was made.4An act is relevant for the purposes of subsection (3)(c) above if it is mentioned in section 6(1) above and is—adone with the authority of the holder, orbone in relation to the doing of which he has a reasonable opportunity to exercise his rights.5The reference in subsection (2) above to an information notice is to a notice which—ais in the prescribed form,bspecifies the product to which it relates,ccontains, in relation to that product, a request for the supply of the prescribed, but no other, information, anddcontains such other particulars as may be prescribed.6In this section, “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Ministers.