Twelve plant variety registrations revoked with rights expiring in February

In the Official Gazette dated October 29, 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced the cancellation of 12 variety registrations based on Article 49, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act (Act No. 83 of 1998). The announcement was made pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph 5 of the same Article, covering 12 notifications from MAFF Notification No. 1631 to No. 1642. In all cases, the breeder’s rights were deemed to have expired in February 2026, in accordance with Paragraph 4, Item 3 of the same Article.

Floricultural and Edible Crops Including Roses, Lantana, and Barley Targeted

The targets include a mix of floricultural and edible crops. The registered variety holders include overseas breeding companies from Europe and the United States, as well as public institutions and domestic businesses from Nagano Prefecture and Tokyo. The registration details confirmed in the Official Gazette are as follows:

• Registration No. 23824 / Lantana (Lantana L.) “BAN WHIT” / Registered February 4, 2015 / Registered variety holder: Syngenta Crop Protection AG (Basel, Switzerland) / Breeder’s rights expired February 3, 2026
• Registration No. 17312 / Barley (Hordeum L.) “Silky Snow” / Registered February 6, 2009 / Registered variety holder: Nagano Prefecture / Breeder’s rights expired February 5, 2026
• Registration No. 29543 / Rose (Rosa L.) “IPK181614” / Registered January 31, 2023 / Registered variety holder: Interplant Roses B.V. (Harmederen, Netherlands) / Breeder’s rights expired February 7, 2026
• Registration No. 20268 / Oncidium (Oncidium Group) “Mayfair Trinity” / Registered February 4, 2011 / Registered variety holder: Tokyo Orchid Nursery Co., Ltd. (Setagaya-ku, Tokyo) / Breeder’s rights expired February 10, 2026
• Registration No. 23810 / Abelia (Abelia R. Br.) “Margarita” / Registered February 4, 2015 / Registered variety holder: Southern Plant Group, LLC (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
• Registration No. 25596 / Green Onion (Allium fistulosum L.) “Tokyo Komachi” / Registered February 8, 2017 / Registered variety holder: Tokyo Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Promotion Foundation (Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo)

Breeder’s Rights Expired in February, Clarified Ex Post Facto by October Announcement

The notifications explicitly state the basis for cancellation as Article 49, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act, and individually specify the dates on which the breeder’s rights are deemed to have expired pursuant to Paragraph 4, Item 3 of the same Article. The expiration dates range from February 3 to February 10, 2026, all of which precede the announcement date of October 29. In the Official Gazette of the same date, MAFF Notification No. 1643 follows immediately after these cancellation announcements, announcing new variety registrations based on Article 18, Paragraph 1 of the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act.

Need to Reconfirm Propagation and Usage Licenses

When a registration is cancelled, authorizations for propagation and transfer based on breeder’s rights, as well as labeling based on the premise of being a registered variety, lose their legal basis. In seedling cultivation and production sites, it will be necessary to review contracts and authorization terms involving seedlings of the same name and lineage. For registered variety holders, this also means that the means to track the distribution of seedlings after the expiration of rights will be limited.

Those most significantly affected are businesses that have propagated and sold varieties developed by overseas breeders within Japan, and producers who utilize regional varieties held by public institutions. While cancellation does not prohibit the cultivation of the variety itself, transaction terms based on breeder’s rights will become subject to renegotiation. The administration retains the role of organizing the interpretation between parties regarding transactions that occurred between the deemed date of expiration and the date of public notice.

Source: Official Gazette (October 29, 2026) Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Notice No. 1631 to No. 1642, Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act (Act No. 83 of 1998) Article 49, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Arata Takebe.