Right to apply for protection

(1) Subject to this Part, the breeder of a variety or his successor in title shall be entitled to apply for protection under this Act. (2) The breeder or his successor in title may be a natural or a legal person. (3) Where two or more persons have bred, or discovered and developed, a variety jointly, the right to protection shall vest in them jointly, and subject to any agreement to the Protection of New Plant Varieties [CAP. 25511 contrary between the joint breeders, their shares in the property of the breeder’s rights shall be equal. (4) Where a variety has been bred, or discovered and developed by several persons independently of each other, the right to apply for the grant of the breeder’s right shall belong to the person who has first applied for protection or filed an application with an earlier priority date at the Office. (5) Where a variety has been bred or discovered and developed in execution of a commission or a contract of employment, the right to apply for protection shall belong, in the absence of contractual provisions to the contrary, to the person who commissioned the work or to the employer.