“restricted public use,” implying that the owner of the variety should be compensated by
the state and that the ownership should be transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture.27
Finally, the law recognized farmers’ rights to the use of seeds saved from a previous crop
and researchers’ rights to use one variety of a seed to develop a new variety.28 As a
result, the first legal registration of new varieties in the country began in 1978, after the
law was enacted by the Executive Power Decree No. 1995 of 1978.29 This Decree was
proposed by the CONASE30 and slightly modified by Decree No. 50/89.31 Nonetheless,
this legislation did not provide enough protection and enforcement of intellectual
property rights for new seed varieties, since its regulations are similar to the PVPA
certificates in the United States.
A modification to the 1978 Decree was enacted in 1991, introducing important
changes to the regulatory regime and updating the legislation according to international
standards. The Executive Power issued Decree No. 2183/1991 on October 21, 1991.32
The modification to the Law No. 20247 originated not only from the need for
modernization of property rights legislation, but also from the political pressure exerted
by some associations of seeders and other interest groups inside CONASE, such as the
Argentine Seed Association (ASA) and Association for the Protection of Plant Breeders
(ARPOV).33 There were several significant modifications. First, CONASE continued to
The property title requested for a foreign variety should be done by its inventor or legally authorized
representative established in Argentina, and it will be granted only if the country of origin of the variety
has similar property right protection for Argentine invented varieties. In such cases, the term of the
property will be up to the term that is left in the country of origin for the same variety.
Id. at art. 26
27 See id. at art. 28. Article 29 limited the use of such right to two years, although the Executive
Power could extend it for another two years. See id. at art. 28.
28 Article 25 states: “The property of a variety does not prevent that other persons could use the variety
for the creation of a new variety, which could be claimed by its creator without the consent of the owner
of the original variety used in the process of creation....” Id.at art. 25.Article 27 provides that: “The
property right of a variety is not affected if the seed is given by authorization of the owner, or somebody
saves and sow seeds for his/her own use, or use or sell as primary product or feeding the seed obtained
from the crop of the variety.” Id. at art. 27.
29 See Decree No. 1995/78, date, [volume] B.O. page, available at www.mecon.gov.ar.
30 See CASEM, Camara Argentina de Semilleros Multiplicadores, 1er Congreso Nacional de
Multiplicadores de Semillas, Circular Interna No. 066 (Oct. 15, 1999),
http://www.cedasaba.com.ar/CircularesInternas/CircInt066.htm.
31 See Decree No. 50/89 Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, June 11 1989, B.O. No, 26672, 13.
32 See Decree No. 2183/91, Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, November 1, 1991, , B.O. No., 27254. available
at http://www.sagpya.mecon.gov.ar/new/0-0/inase/pdf/Normativa/DECR-2183-91.PDF.
33 At a symposium on Intellectual Property Rights in Plant Biotechnology, Oscar Domingo presented
the relevant legal framework in Argentina:
“ASA, which has been in operation for 54 years and groups together the 67 main seed
companies, and ARPOV, set up more recently, are the bodies which deal with sectoral union activity
and work for the technological development and protection of phytogenetic creations. ASA, which is
member of CONABIA, since it was set up 11 years ago, has played a major role in the discussion of the