WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO 
IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
16 February 2012 
 (12-0893) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
  
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
FINLAND 
  The present document reproduces the text
1 of the Plant Breeder's Right Act, as notified by 
Finland on 10 February 2011 under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/FIN/3). 
 
 Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce  
  
 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA 
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
FINLANDE 
  Le présent document contient le texte
1 de la Loi sur les droits de l'obtenteur, notifiée par la 
Finlande le 10 février 2011 au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/FIN/3). 
 
 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 PÁRRAFO 2 
DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
FINLANDIA 
 
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto
1 de la Ley sobre los Derechos de Obtentor, 
notificada por Finlandia el 10 de febrero de 2011 en  virtud del párrafo 2 de l artículo 63 del Acuerdo 
(véase el documento IP/N/1/FIN/3). 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.   
   IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
    
 
    
 
  
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS 
AND REGULATIONS 
(in English) 
   
Unofficial translations 
 
 
  
PATENTS (Including plant variety protection and utility model protection 
and related legal instruments) 
 
   
   IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
 Page 5 
 
 
  PLANT BREEDER'S RIGHT ACT 
 (1279/2009)  (Unofficial translation) 
 
Chapter 1 – General provisions   
Section 1 – Scope of application  
This Act applies to the protection of the plant variety right (plant breeder's right). A plant 
breeder's right may be granted to varie ties of all botanical genera and species. 
 Section 2 – European Community legislation  
(1) Provisions on the plant variety rights of th e European Community are laid down in Council 
Regulation (EC) No 2100/84 on Community plant variety rights. 
(2) The same protection as laid down by this Ac t applies to a Community plant variety right 
holder, unless otherwise specified in the Act. 
 Section 3 – Definitions  
(1) In this Act:   
1) essentially derived variety  means a variety produced by utilising a protected variety in an 
essential way;  2) plant breeder's right  means the exclusive right of a breed er to the professional exploitation 
of the variety as laid down in this Act; a plant breeder's right also applies to: 
a) varieties which are not clearly distinct from a protected variety; 
b) essentially derived variety if  the variety itself is not an essentially derived variety; 
and c) varieties whose production requires repeated use of a protected variety;  
3) plant breeder's right holder  means the breeder of the variet y or the successor to this title; 
the plant breeder's right holder is the person who h as last been entered to the register of plant 
breeder's rights referred to in section 22 as th e plant breeder's right holder, unless otherwise 
shown;  
4) variety  means a plant grouping within a botanical taxon of the lowest known rank which 
can be: 
a) defined by the expression of characteristi cs of a given genotype or combination of 
genotypes; 
b) distinguished from any other plant grouping by at least one characteristic; and 
c) considered as a unit on the grounds of  its suitability for being propagated 
unchanged;  
5) hybrid  means the progeny of parents with different genotypes;  
6) propagating material  means all plant parts which can be used for propagating plants;  
7) material of a variety  means;  
a) propagating material of a variety; 
b) crop, whole plants and parts of plants ha rvested from the plantation of the variety; 
and c) all produce directly manufactured from the harvested crop. 
8) marketing  means sale or other conveyance agai nst compensation, storage for sales 
purposes, offering for sale, conveyance without reimbursement for commercial utilisation as 
well as placing on the market against charge or free of charge within the European Union for 
distribution or use within the Union territory.  
  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
Page 6  
 
  Chapter 2 – Plant breeder's right  
 
Section 4 – Content of plant breeder's right  
(1) A plant breeder's right holder has the exclusive right to exploit the propagating material of the 
variety in professional production and marketing 
(2) The following acts concerning propagating material require the authorisation of the plant 
breeder's right holder conditions subject to conditions determined by the holder:  
1) propagating; 2) conditioning for the purpose of propagation; 3) marketing, export and import; and 
4) storage for use for purposes referred to in 1-3 
(3) Acts referred to in subsection 2 above ma y not be performed to crop obtained through 
unauthorised exploitation of the propagating ma terial of a protected variety without the 
authorisation of the plant breeder's right holder if the plant breeder's right holder has not had a 
reasonable opportunity to exercise his or her right to the material concerned. 
 
Section 5 – Exceptions to plant breeder's right  
(1) Plant breeder's right does not restrict the use of a variety: 
1) privately for other than commercial purposes; 2) for experimental and research purposes; or 3) for breeding new varieties. 
4) subject to the conditions laid down in section 6, for the production of sowing seed for the 
farm's own use. 
 Section 6 – Right to cultivate a protected variety and obligation to pay remuneration for it  
(1) Subject to payment of remuneration a farm er has the right to use or produce propagating 
material of protected varieties for propaga tion purposes on his or her own holding. This 
applies to the cultivation of varieties of the following plant species, except for hybrids: oats, 
barley, rye, wheat, triticale, turnip rape, swede rape, flax, pea, field bean, potato and buckwheat.  
(2) The remuneration must be substantially lower th an the royalty payable in the marketing of the 
propagating material of the variety. A contract  may be concluded between the plant breeder's 
right holder and the farmer or between or ganisations representing them on a reasonable 
amount of remuneration payable to the plant breed er's right holder. Where such contract has 
been concluded or does not apply, the farmer ha s the obligation to pay to the plant breeder's 
right holder a remuneration of 50 per cent of the sum payable for the marketing of the propagating material of the variety. 
(3) Farmers who possess an arable area of less th an 10 hectares are entitled to use the propagating 
material of a protected variety in the manne r referred to in subsection 1 without paying 
remuneration. However, in such a case remune ration must be paid for the cultivation of a 
protected potato variety if the cultivation area of the variety is larger than two hectares or if 
the area of early potato cultivated under covering is larger than one hectare. 
(4) A farmer is obligation to give, upon request, the authority and the plant breeder's right holder 
the necessary information for establishing the payment obligation. 
 Section 7 – Right to obtain cultivation information concerning a protected variety  
(1)  For the enforcement of the payment obligatio n laid down in section 6, the plant breeder's 
right holder is entitled to access the followi ng necessary information from the information 
system referred to in the Act of the Info rmation Systems of Rural Business Authorities 
(284/2008): 
 1) name and contact information of the farmer;  
2) code of holding;   IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
 Page 7 
 
 
  3) arable land area in the possession of the farmer if this is more than two hectares in the case 
of a protected potato variety, one hectare in the case of early potato cultivated under covering 
and 10 hectares in the case of other varieties;  4) cultivation area of varieties protected by  the plant variety right of the European 
Community if this exceeds the calculated ar ea needed for the production of 92 tonnes of 
cereal;  
5) cultivation area of potato varieties protected by the plant variety right of the European Community if this exceeds the calculated ar ea needed for the production of 185 tonnes of 
potato;  6) cultivation areas sown with seed of protected  varieties produced on farmer's own holding 
under this Act  by variety. 
(2) A plant breeder's right holder may use inform ation conveyed under subsection 1 only for the 
enforcement of the right to receive payment refe rred to in section 6. The plant breeder's right 
holder is not entitled to forward th e information to another party. 
(3) A condition for the conveyance of information under subsection 1 is that the plant breeder's 
right holder and farmer or organisations re presenting them have agreed on the remuneration 
payable to the plant breeder's right holder under section 6. 
  Section 8 – Destroying cultivation information concerning a protected variety 
(1) A plant breeder's right holder must destroy information obtained under section 7 within one 
year from the end of the calendar year concerned in the   enforcement of the payment obligation 
referred to in section 6 for which the information has been given. 
 Section 9 – Exhaustion of plant breeder's right    
(1) Plant breeder's right does not apply to relati ng to the marketing of a protected variety or 
material of varieties referred to in points a-c of Article 3(7) in Finl and if such acts are not 
taken with a view to:   
1) further propagation of the variety; or 2) export of material of the variety to a count ry which does not protect the varieties of the 
plant genus or species to which the variety be longs, except where the exported material is 
intended for consumption. 
 
Chapter 3  – Conditions for the grant of plant breeder's right  
 Section 10 – Conditions concerning the applicant  
(1) A plant breeder's right may be applied for by a natural person, legal entity or body which may 
be equated with legal entities under the legislation concerning these. A plant breeder's right 
may be applied for by two or several persons jointly.  
(2) If a party other than the breeder of the vari ety applies for the plant breeder's right, it must 
prove its right to the variety. 
 Section 11 – Conditions concerning the variety  
(1) A plant breeder's right is granted if the vari ety is novel, distinct from other known varieties, 
uniform as regards plant growth and stable as regards its relevant characteristics.  
(2) A variety is not considered novel if propagating or harvested material of the variety has been 
sold or otherwise disposed of to others with th e consent of the plant br eeder's right holder for 
purposes of exploitation of the variety: 
1) in Finland for more than one year before the filing of the application;  
2) abroad for more than six years before the filing of the application in the case of a 
tree or vine; or  3) abroad for more than four years in the case of plants other than those mentioned in 
point 2;  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
Page 8  
 
  (3) A plant breeder's right may not be granted if  the variety is covered by Community protection 
under Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/84 on Community plant variety rights.  
 
Chapter 4 – Approval of plant breeder's right 
 Section 12 – Competent authority  
(1) The Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira) is  responsible for the approval, registration and 
publication of a plant breeder's right and the upkeep of the register of plant breeder's rights.  
 Section 13 – Application 
(1) An application for the grant of a plant breeder's  right is filed in writing to Evira in the Finnish, 
Swedish or English language. The application must show: 
1) name, contact information, personal  or business identity code and place of 
domicile of the applicant of the plant breed er's right and possible agent as well as the 
name and contact information of the breeder;  
2) proposal for variety denomination and account of the use of the variety 
denomination as well as breeder's reference;  3) plant genus and species;  4) information on the origin of the variety, protection in another state and test results;  5) information on whether right of priority is applied for as well as where and when earlier applications have been filed;  
6) assurance that the variety has not b een marketed in a way referred to in 
section 11(2) prior to the filing of the application; and  7) An account of whether the variety has been approved under the Gene Technology Act (377/1995) or Regulation (EC) No 1829/200 3 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council on genetically modified food and feed.   
(2) The date when the application documents are f iled to Evira and the application fee is paid is 
entered as the date of application. As minimu m information for assigning the application date 
the application must show the name and contact information of the applicant, plant genus and 
species, variety denomination and breeder's reference.  
(3) If the applicant has not provided all informa tion referred to in subsection 1, Evira must 
request the applicant to correct the shortcomi ngs within a set time period. If the applicant 
does not correct the shortcomings within the set  time period, the application is not examined. 
(4) An application which has been left unexami ned is taken up for examination if this is 
requested by the applicant within one month from  the expiry of the time limit set by Evira and 
if the applicant takes action to correct the  shortcomings and pays the re-examination fee 
within the same time period. 
(5) If the proposed variety denomination may be c onfused with a brand name, denomination,  has 
a right of priority, an extract from the register from the National Board of Patents and Registration must be attached to the applicati on, showing that the brand name, denomination, 
business name or other indication has been removed from the relevant register. If such an indication has not been registered, the applicant mu st attach to the application an account that 
the applicant has relinquished or is willing to relinquish the right to use this indication. 
(6) Further provisions on the information to be  presented in an application under subsection 1 
may be issued by Decree of the Mini stry of Agriculture and Forestry.  
 Section 14 – Provisional protection   
(1) Provisional protection starts as from the date of application and continues until plant breeder's 
right has been granted. Provisional protection cease s to exist if plant breeder's right is not 
granted.  
  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
 Page 9 
 
 
  Section 15 – Right of priority   
(1) The right of priority of plant breeder's right a pplications is determined on the basis of the date 
of application. If several applications have the sa me date of application, their mutual priority 
is determined on the basis of the time of receipt  of the application. If the priority cannot be 
established on the basis of the time of receipt of  the application, the applications have the 
same right of priority. 
(2) If the applicant has previously applied for plan t breeder's right in a territory which is in the 
jurisdiction of a member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of 
Plants or the World Trade Organization, an app lication filed within 12 months of the filing of 
the previous application must be considered to have been filed simultaneously in the territory 
concerned. 
(3) A precondition for determining the right of prio rity under subsection 2 is that the right of 
priority is specifically claimed upon filing the application and copies of the previous application concerning the variety and the rela ted document are delivered to Evira within 
three months from the filing of the application. The copies must be certified by the authority 
which received the first application concerning the variety in question. 
(4) The applicant must deliver the information, documents and materials necessary for examining 
the application to Evira within two years from the expiry of the period of validity of the right of priority under subsection 2. If the first appli cation has been rejected, the applicant must be 
granted enough time to deliver the information, documents and materials necessary for examining the application to Evira. 
(5) Further information on making the request concerning the right of priority may be issued by 
Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.   
 Section 16 – Publication of an application  
(1) Evira must reserve the general public the opportunity to make claims concerning the 
application by publishing the identification information of the application. 
(2) Claims concerning the application must be file d to Evira in writing within a set time period of 
three months from the publication of the application. 
(3) Further information on the publication of an a pplication and the identification information to 
be published may be issued by Decree of th e Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. 
 
Section 17 – Claim for a better right  
(1) If a third party claims that it has a better right to a variety than the applicant, it must file a 
written claim on this to Evira. If the matter is unclear, Evira must by a preliminary ruling advice the party concerned to institute proceedings  at a court of law within a set time period. 
If court proceedings are not instituted within th e set time period, the claim is ignored, which 
must be mentioned in the preliminary ruling. 
(2) If a dispute over a better right to a variety is pending at a court of law, the examination of the 
application must be suspended until the matter is finally resolved. 
 Section 18 – Transfer of an application  
(1) If a third party proves to Evira that it has a be tter right to a variety than the applicant, Evira 
must, upon the third party’s claim, transfer the a pplication to the third party. The transferee 
must at the same time pay the application fee. 
(2) The application may not be left unexamined, approved, rejected or cancelled until the transfer 
claim has been finally resolved.  
 
Section 19 – Examination of a variety  
(1) Evira organises the examination of the variet y upon request by the applicant and according to 
international methods to find out whether the va riety is distinct, uniform and stable, unless the 
examination is to be considered unnecessary for special reasons. IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
Page 10  
 
  (2) The applicant must deliver the necessary material of the variety and other necessary 
information to Evira or the party which conducts the examination.  
 Section 20 – Decision on plant breeder's right  
(1) Evira investigates, after the expiry of the ti me period reserved for filing claims, whether the 
variety fulfils the requirements set in section 11, as well as makes the decision on the 
approval of the plant breeder's right. Decisions concerning the application and cancellations are published and decisions concerning approved a pplications are entered to the register of 
plant breeder's rights referred to in section 22. 
 
Section 21 – Validity of plant breeder's right  
(1) A plant breeder's right is valid as from the date when the Evira has made the approval 
decision. The right may be maintained in fo rce for 30 years from the beginning of the year 
following the approval decision by paying an annual fee by the end of January of each calendar year valid.  
(2) The validity of plant breeder's right expires if a Community plant variety right to the protected 
variety is granted to the applicant.  
 Section 22 – Register of plant breeder's right 
(1) The following information on approved plant breed er's rights is entered to the register of plant 
breeder's rights kept by Evira:  
1) registration number of the plant breeder's right; 
2) name and contact information of the plant breeder's right holder and possible 
agent, business identity code, place of domicile, notification of the change of agent as well as name and contact information of the breeder; 3) plant genus and species which the variety belongs to and identification information 
of the variety description; 
4) approved variety denomination, date of variety denomination proposal and 
breeder's reference; 5) date of application, number and publi cation date of the application and approval 
date of plant breeder's right; 6) granted right of priority and the state in which the previous application concerning 
the variety has been filed, as well as the date  of application when the application has 
been filed; 7) payment of annual fee; 8) compulsory licence, compulsory cross-li cence and licence which has been granted; 
9) lien;  
10) decisions by Evira which have no lega l validity, appeals, executions, seizures and 
court decisions on the matter; 11) expiry date of the plant breeder's right. 
(2) If the entry to the register cannot be resolved immediately, an entry to the register must be 
made that such an entry has been requested. . 
(3) Otherwise the provisions laid down in the Act on Information Systems of Rural Business 
Administration apply to the register of plant breeder's rights and documents included in the 
register. 
(4) Further provisions on the content of entries made in the register under subsection 1 may be 
issued by Decree of the Ministry  of Agriculture and Forestry. 
 
Section 23 – Removal of an entry from the register  
(1) If it is proven that a licence, lien or compulsory licence has expired, the entry must be 
removed from the register. 
(2) Personal data of a natural person referred to  in point 2 of section 22(1) are removed from the 
register no later than within ten years from the expiry of the validity of the plant breeder's  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
 Page 11 
 
 
  right. The provisions laid down in the Personal Data Act (523/1999) or  decisions made under 
it apply to the removal of information recorded in the register. 
(3)  Provisions on archiving the information removed from the register are laid down in the 
Archiving Act (831/1994). 
 Chapter 5 – Variety denomination 
 
Section 24 – Selection and use of variety denomination   
(1) Variety denomination must be such that a vari ety can be distinguished from other varieties of 
the same or closely related species.   
(2) Variety denomination may not be approved if it can be confused with a brand name, 
denomination, business name or other indication to  which a party other than the applicant has 
the protection so that this protection of another party is an impediment to the registration of 
the variety denomination. 
(3) The approved variety denomination must be u sed when marketing the propagating material of 
a protected variety. The approved variety denomination must also be used after the expiry of 
the validity of the plant breeder's right or the right has otherwise lapsed. 
(4) Further provisions on the selection and use of variety denomination may be issued by Decree 
of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. 
 Section 25 – Cancellation of variety denomination and new variety denomination 
(1) Evira must cancel an approved variety denomination:  
1) if the variety denomination has been a pproved in a way that violates this Act and 
the impediment to the approval continues to exist;  2) if the plant breeder's right holder so requests and presents due grounds for this; or  3) if someone presents decision of a court of law forbidding the use of the 
denomination for a certain variety.  
(2) Evira must notify the plant breeder's right  holder of the claim to cancel the variety 
denominations and request the holder to submit a new denomination proposal within 30 days 
of having received notice of such a claim.   
(3) Evira must examine the proposal concerning new denomination. When Evira has approved 
the new denomination, it must be published and registered. 
(4) Further provisions on the cancellation and regi stration of variety denomination may be issued 
by Decree of the Ministry of  Agriculture and Forestry. 
 
Chapter 6 – Lapse, annulment and forfeiture of plant breeder's right 
 Section 26 – Lapse of plant breeder's right 
(1) Evira states by its decision that a plant breeder 's right lapses if the plant breeder's right holder 
notifies Evira in writing that the holder waives the plant breeder's right.  
(2) If the annual fee has not been paid as laid down in section 21, Evira must urge the plant 
breeder's right holder to pay the annual fee within a set time period, subject to the threat that 
the plant breeder's right lapses. If the plant breed er's right holder has not paid the fee within 
the set time period, Evira states by its decisi on that the plant breeder's right has lapsed. 
(3) If a plant breeder's right has been seized or there is a lien which has been entered to the 
register on it or a dispute concerning the transfer of the plant breeder's right is pending, the plant breeder's right may not be cancelled as l ong as the seizure or lien is effective or the 
dispute has not been finally resolved. 
 
Section 27 – Annulment 
(1) A court of law must annul plant breeder's right if, when granting the right:  
1) the preconditions for distinctness or novelty of the variety did not exist;  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
Page 12  
 
  2) the preconditions for uniformity or stability did not exist and the decision of the 
approval of the plant breeder's right was essentially based on information provided by the applicant;  
(2) A court of law must annul plant breeder's right if right has been granted to an applicant who is 
not entitled to it, unless Evira transfers the plant breeder's right to a party which is entitled to 
it. 
(3) A court of law must request a statement of Ev ira in matters concerning the annulment of plant 
breeder's right.  
 Section 28 – Forfeiture  
(1) Evira declares a plant breeder's right forfeit if:  
1) the plant breeder's right holder is unable to produce propagating material for the variety with identifying features corresponding to those of the protected variety;  2) the plant breeder's right holder does not provide within the set time period, upon Evira's request, propagating material, docum ents and other information which are 
necessary to examine whether the variet y is appropriately maintained; or  
3) the variety denomination has been cancelle d after the rights have been granted and 
the plant breeder's right holder does not  propose an acceptable new variety 
denomination. 
 Section 29 – Registration of expiry of plant breeder's right 
(1) An entry of the expiry of plant breeder's right is made in the register if:  
1) plant breeder's right has lapsed as laid down in section 26;  2) plant breeder's right has been annulled by a legally valid decision of a court of law as laid down in section 27;  3) plant breeder's right has been declared  forfeit by a decision of Evira as laid down 
in section 28; or 
4) validity of plant breeder's right has expired as laid down in section 21. 
 
Chapter 7 – Licence, compulsory li cence and compulsory cross-licence 
 
Section 30 – Licence 
(1) If the plant breeder's right holder has gran ted another party the right to professional 
exploitation of the protected variety (licence) , this may not assign the licence to a further 
party, except if this has been agreed on.  
(2) If the licence is held by a company, it may be  assigned further in connection with the transfer 
of the company, unless otherwise agreed. 
(3) If the plant breeder's right holder notifies of  giving up the plant breeder's right and a licence 
concerning the right has been entered to the register, Evira must notify the licence holder of the matter in order to reserve a reasonable time to  supervise its rights before Evira declares by 
its decision that the plant breeder's right has lapsed.  
 Section 31 – Compulsory licence  
(1) If after the registration propagating material of the variety is not produced for the market on 
reasonable conditions and sufficiently as rega rds the general food supply needs, a party 
wishing to exploit the variety  professionally in Finland may obtain a compulsory licence for this, if there is no acceptable reason for the action by the plant breeder's right holder. Compulsory licence includes the right to obtain the necessary amount of the propagating 
material of the variety from the plant breeder's right holder.  
(2)  Compulsory licence may only be granted to a party who is considered to possess the 
prerequisites to exploit the variety subject to the plant breeder's right in an acceptable manner 
and on the conditions set in the compulsory li cence. Compulsory licence does not prevent the 
plant breeder's right holder from exploiting the ri ght or from issuing a licence for the variety.  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
 Page 13 
 
 
  (3)  Compulsory licence is granted by a court of law, which determines to what extent the 
protected variety may be exploited as well as confirms the remunerati on and other conditions 
of the compulsory licence. The court of law may, upon demand by the plant breeder's right 
holder, cancel a compulsory licence or confirm new conditions for it if this is necessary due to essential changes in the circumstances. 
 
Section 32 – Compulsory cross-licence 
(1) If a holder of a patent concerning a biotechnological invention cannot exploit the patent 
without infringing a prior plant breeder's right concerning the variety, the patent holder may apply for a compulsory licence from a court of law for non-exclusive use of the variety 
protected by the right concerned subject to payment of an appropriate royalty. If such a 
compulsory licence is granted to the patent holder, the plant breeder's right holder will be entitled to a cross-licence on reasonable term s to use the protected invention.   
(2) The applicant for a licence referred to in sub section 1 above must demonstrate that they have 
applied unsuccessfully to the plant breeder's ri ght holder to obtain a contractual licence and 
that the invention constitutes significant techni cal progress of considerable economic interest 
as regards the protected variety. 
(3) Provisions on the right of a plant breeder to  obtain a compulsory licence for the exploitation 
of an invention protected by a patent ar e laid down in the Patent Act (550/1967). 
 
Chapter 8 – Private law protection  
 
Section 33 – Prevention of infringement 
If someone infringes an exclusive right acquired through a plant breeder's right a court of law may forbid the continuation or repetition of the act. 
 
Section 34 – Suspension order on an intermediary   
(1) When processing an action referred to in sec tion 33 a court of law may, upon demand by the 
plant breeder's right holder, order a party main taining a transmitter, server or other similar 
device or offering other service that functions as an intermediary to suspend any use that is 
claimed to infringe a plant breeder's right (s uspension order), unless this is considered 
unreasonable taking account of the rights of the a lleged infringer of the plant breeder's right, 
the intermediary and the plant breeder's right holder.     
(2) Before bringing an action refe rred to in section 33 the court of law may, upon demand of the 
plant breeder's right holder, issue a suspension order if the preconditions for this under subsection 1 are met and if it is evident that th e realisation of the rights of the right holder 
would otherwise be at serious risk. The court of  law must reserve the opportunity to be heard 
for both the party to which the order is to be issued and the party claimed to have infringed 
the plant breeder's right. The notification to the pa rty to which the order is to be issued may be 
delivered by post, telefax or e-mail. Otherwis e the provisions of Chapter 8 of the Code of 
Real Estate apply to the processing of the matter. 
(3) A court of law may, upon request issue th e suspension order referred to in subsection as a 
temporary one without hearing the alleged infringer,  if this is imperative due to the urgency of 
the matter. The order is in force until further notice. The alleged infringer must be reserved 
the opportunity to be heard immediately after the issue of the order. When the alleged 
infringer has been heard, the court of law must decide without delay whether the order is kept 
in force or cancelled.  
(4) A suspension order issued under this section may not compromise the right of a third party to 
send and receive messages. Without prejudice to Ch apter 7, section 7 of the Code of Judicial 
Procedure, a suspension order becomes effectiv e when the applicant lodges with the bailiff a 
security referred to in Chapter 8, section 2 of the Enforcement Code. A suspension order 
issued under subsection 2 or 3 of this section lapses unless action referred to in section 33 is 
brought within a month from the issue of the order.  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
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  (5) The party which demanded the suspension or der must compensate the party for which the 
order is issued as well as the alleged infringer for any damage caused due to the enforcement 
of the order and costs arisen from the matter if an  action referred to in sec tion 33 is rejected or 
left unexamined or if the processing of the matte r is dismissed without consideration because 
the plaintiff has cancelled the action or has failed  to appear at the court of law. The same 
applies when a suspension order is cancelled under subsection 3 or lap ses under subsection 4. 
The provisions of Chapter 7, section 12 of the Code of Judicial Procedure apply to bringing action for the compensation of damages and expenses. 
 Section 35 – Declaratory action   
(1) A plant breeder's right holder or a party w ho is entitled under a licence or compulsory licence 
to exploit a variety protected under plant br eeder's right may initiate declaratory action 
concerning whether the he or she is entitled to protection from another party under the granted 
plant breeder's right if the matter is unclear and causes harm to him or her. 
(2) Anyone who exploits or intends  to exploit a variety protected on the basis of plant breeder's 
right may, on the same conditions, initiate decl aratory action against the plant breeder's right 
holder concerning whether the plant breeder's right constitute an impediment to the activity concerned. 
 Section 36 – Remuneration and compensation for damages   
(1) Anyone who intentionally or through neg ligence infringes plant breeder's right or the 
provisions of section 24(3) on using variety de nominations is liable to pay a reasonable 
remuneration for exploiting the variety and co mpensation for any damage caused by the 
infringement. If the negligence is minor, compen sation for the damages can be adjusted.  
(2) If infringement of plant breeder's right or the provisions of section 24(3) on using variety 
denominations is not intentional or caused by negligence, the infringer is liable to pay a 
reasonable remuneration for exploiting the variety.  
(3) Compensation for damages based on infringement of plant breeder's right or the provisions of 
section 24(3) on using variety denominations may only be claimed concerning the five-year 
period preceding the institution of proceedings. 
(4) If plant breeder's right has been annulled by a court decision that has gained legal force, 
liability for remuneration or compensation for damages does not exist.  
(5) The provisions of the Tort Liability Act ( 412/1974) also apply to the compensation for 
damages. 
 Section 37 – Farmers’ liability for damages  
A farmer who neglect the obligation laid down in  section 6 is liable to pay compensation to 
the plant breeder's right holder. The amount of  the compensation is determined in accordance 
with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1768/95 implementing rules on the agricultural 
exemption provided for in Article 14(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 on 
Community Plant Variety Rights.  
 Section 38 – Returning plant variety material   
(1) On the institution of proceedings by a party suffering from infringement of the right, a court 
of law may, within reasonable limits, order that the plant material of the variety concerned in 
the infringement be surrendered to the injure d party against payment. The above does not 
apply to parties who have obtained plant material of the variety or a special right thereto in good faith and have not themselves infringed the plant breeder's right. 
(2) The plant material of the variety referred to in subsection 1 above may be confiscated if the 
party suffering the infringement has filed a cl aim demanding surrender of the plant material 
of the variety in accordance with the Enforcement Code. 
  IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
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  Section 39 – Infringement of provisional protection  
(1) If a party other than the applicant exploits professionally a variety or propagating material of 
a variety during the time referred to in section 14, the provisions concerning the infringement 
of plant breeder's right must be applied if th e plant breeder's right is granted later on.  
(2) Punishments referred to in Chapter 9 of this  Act or Chapter 49, section 2 of the Criminal 
Code cannot be imposed for infringement of plant breeder's right which has taken place 
during provisional protection. 
(3) Compensation for damage which has arisen befo re the publication of an application referred 
to in section 16 may only be ordered under section 36(2). 
(4) If an action concerning compensation for da mages is initiated within one year from the 
approval of the plant breeder's right, the provision of section 36(3) does not apply. 
 Section 40 – Publication of the judgement 
(1) In a dispute concerning the infringement of pant breeder's right a court of law may order, 
upon demand by the plaintiff, that the defendant must compensate for costs incurred to the 
plaintiff for taking appropriate action to publis h information on a legally valid judgement in 
which the defendant is found to have infringed plant breeder's right. The order may not be 
issued if the dissemination of information has been restricted in other legislation. When 
considering the issue of the order and the conten t of the order, the court of law must take 
account of the general significance of the publica tion, type and extent of the infringement, 
costs arising from the publication and other similar matters 
(2) A court of law may order the maximum amount  of the reasonable publication costs to be 
compensated for. The plaintiff is not entitled to compensation if information on the judgement 
is not published within the time limit from the time when the judgement became legally valid 
set by court of law. 
 Chapter 9 – Penal provisions  
 
Section 41 – Infringement of plant breeder's right 
(1) Anyone who intentionally infringes the exclusiv e right laid down in section 4, sentenced to a 
fine for infringement of plant breeder's right , unless the act is to be punished as violation of 
incorporeal rights referred to in Chapter 49, section 2 of the Criminal Code.  
 
Section 42 – Violation of plant breeder's right 
(1) Anyone who intentionally or through gross ne gligence neglects obligation to give information 
laid down in section 6(4) or violates the pr ovisions on the use of variety denomination of 
section 24(3) must be sentenced to a fine for violation of plant breeder's right .  
 
Section 43 – Misuse of cultivation information concerning a protected variety  
(1) Plant breeder's right holder who intentionall y or through gross negligence uses information 
given under section 7 in a way that violate the purpose of use laid down in section 7(2) or 
forwards the information in a way that violates the said provision must be sentenced to a fine 
for misuse of cultivation information concerning a protected variety .  
 
Section 44 – Right to institute criminal proceedings 
(1) The prosecutor may not bring charges for offence referred to in sections 41-43 unless the 
complainant reports the offence for prosecution.  
 Chapter 10 – Miscellaneous provisions 
 
Section 45 – Appeal  
(1) A decision by Evira under this Act may be app ealed to the Administra tive Court as laid down 
in the Administrative Judicial Procedure Act (586/1996). IP/N/1/FIN/P/16 
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Section 46 – Legal venue 
(1) The court of competent jurisdiction in matters under this Act is the Helsinki District Court.  
 Section 47 – Request for statement  
(1) In matters concerning plant breeder's right a court of law may request a statement from Evira. 
 Section 48 – Charges to be collected   
(1) Charges for tasks undertaken by  Evira to the State are collected on the grounds laid down in 
Act on Criteria for Charges Payable to the State (150/1992). 
 
Section 49 – Agent of an applicant for and holder of plant breeder's right 
(1) If the applicant for or holder of plant breeder's  right has no domicile in Finland, the applicant 
or holder must have an agent residing within  the European Economic Area who is entitled to 
represent the applicant or holder in all ma tters concerning the plant breeder's right. 
 
Section 41 – Entry into force 
(1) This Act enters into force on 1 January 2010.  (2) This Act repeals the Act on Plant Variety Rights of 21 August 1992 with subsequent 
amendments and the Act on the Protection of Plant Variety Rights Granted by the European 
Community under Private and Public Law in Finland of 5 March 1999 (239/1999). 
(3) Provisions and regulations issued under the repealed Act on Plant Variety Rights remain in 
force until otherwise provided under this Act. 
(4) This Act applies to applications for plant breeder's right pending upon entry into force of this 
Act and plant breeder's rights granted on the basis of these as well as plant breeder's rights 
granted before the entry into force of the Act. 
(5) The period of validity of plant breeder's rights in force upon entry into force of this Act are 
extended as laid down in this Act as from the approval decision.  
(6) Measures necessary for the implementation of this Act may be undertaken before the Act's 
entry into force. 
(7) If in other law reference is made to the Ac t on Plant Variety Rights in force upon entry into 
force of this Act, this Act applies instead. 
 
 
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