Henry Goh was one of the first firms to file applications for registration of new plant varieties under Malaysia’s Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (NPV Act) upon approval of its implementing regulations on 20 October 2008.

A sui generis system of protection, Malaysia’s NPV Act is in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity and is modelled on the International Convention for the Protection of New Plant Varieties.

Our firm has the relevant technical expertise needed to advise on the unique requirements for filing and prosecution of plant variety applications in Malaysia.

It is the intention for the NPV Act to ultimately offer protection to all crops, i.e. an open list system. Currently, priority is given to a list of 25 crops divided amongst local ornamental, fruit, industrial and cereal crops, as well as forest plantation species that are vital to the Malaysian agriculture sector. Acceptance of applications for varieties other than those on the priority list is at the discretion of the Plant Variety Protection Registration Office and is subject to the availability of technical expertise to assess the application.