On July 7, 2025, the third "Seed Industry Intellectual Property Protection and Application Promotion Action" was successfully held in Zhangye City, Gansu Province. This conference is hosted by the Science and Technology Development Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Gansu Province, and organized by the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Zhangye City. Representatives from the administrative, judicial, scientific research, enterprise, and industry associations of the seed industry will focus on interpreting, training, discussing, and observing the newly revised "Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties", directly facing the main body of breeding research and development, strengthening the awareness of source governance, further strengthening the creation, protection, and application of seed industry intellectual property rights, and assisting in the revitalization of the seed industry. Lawyer Wang Haiyang, Senior Partner, Senior Intellectual Property Specialist, and Head of Seed Industry Legal Services Team at Gaopeng Law Firm, was invited to attend the conference.

2025 Seed Industry Intellectual Property Protection and Application Promotion Conference

In the morning, the "2025 Third Seed Industry Intellectual Property Protection and Application Promotion Action" conference was grandly held. Zhou Xiaopeng, Director of the Variety Management Department of the Seed Industry Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, elaborated in detail on the specific measures of "strengthening the full chain management of crop varieties" from the aspects of accelerating the improvement and application of germplasm resources, deepening the promotion of breeding innovation public relations, improving the mechanism for tracking and evaluating varieties, revoking and withdrawing them, and strengthening the protection of variety intellectual property rights; Chief Judge Luo Xia of the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court has clarified the direction of strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights in the seed industry from the aspects of adhering to strict protection, improving the quality and efficiency of trials, refining the rules of judgment, improving the institutional system, strengthening the guidance and optimization of trial work mechanisms, and promoting collaborative cooperation to build a comprehensive protection pattern; Sun Junli, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Science and Technology Development Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, analyzed the current situation of plant variety protection in China based on the overall revision of the "Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties", interpreted the newly revised "Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties", and looked forward to its future implementation; Director Li Xinhai of the Science and Technology Management Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences focused on the development of breeding technology in the corn industry, analyzed the impact of revising the "Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties" on corn seed industry enterprises, and proposed corresponding countermeasures and suggestions for the challenges faced by corn enterprises in China.

Seminar on the Protection and Development of New Agricultural Plant Varieties

In the afternoon, the Science and Technology Development Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs organized a seminar on the protection and development of new agricultural plant varieties, chaired by Sun Junli, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Science and Technology Development Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Nearly 30 representatives from agricultural administration, universities, research institutes, seed industry enterprises, and legal practice fields gathered together to actively provide suggestions and engage in lively discussions on the core theme of improving the level of seed industry intellectual property protection and promoting high-quality development of seed industry intellectual property. The attendees focused on multiple key topics for in-depth communication, including the revision direction of the supporting regulations of the Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties, the implementation path of the EDV system, the linkage mechanism between patent protection and the protection of new plant varieties, as well as other related content to promote the high-quality development of variety protection, forming a broad consensus and multiple constructive opinions.

During the conference, Lawyer Wang Haiyang and attending experts conducted in-depth discussions on multiple topics. Firstly, a detailed discussion was conducted on the revision of the supporting regulations of the Seed Law and the Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties, including the Implementation Rules for the Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties (Agricultural Part) and the Regulations on the Handling of Infringement Cases of Agricultural Plant Variety Rights; Secondly, conduct in-depth exchanges on the connection between plant variety patent protection and new plant variety protection; Again, opinions were exchanged on other related matters related to promoting the high-quality development of variety rights; Lawyer Wang Haiyang also put forward a series of practical and forward-looking suggestions for the protection of intellectual property rights in the seed industry, based on the results of this seminar and the actual development of the seed industry. At the same time, he made positive prospects for the improvement of the future seed industry intellectual property protection system, the enhancement of protection efficiency, and the healthy development of the industry.