Plant breeders and rights holders can protect new varieties in Azerbaijan through the national PBR procedure.
Required documents
For filing a PBR application in Azerbaijan, the following documents are generally required:
Formalities and legalization
The power of attorney must be submitted in original form. Corporate documents must be translated into Azerbaijani and notarized. If the documents are issued in a Hague Apostille country, apostille certification is required. If they are issued in a CIS country, notarization is sufficient. Documents from other countries must be legalized.
Filing and examination
All required documents are submitted at the filing stage. Technical examination is carried out by the Center for Laboratory, Expertise and Certification under the Agency of Agricultural Services under the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan. To start testing, a contract with the Center must be signed, and the examiner may rely on a CPVO DUS report or request a new test if needed.
Samples and testing
Plant material must be submitted for storage in the Azerbaijan Genebank, and the timing for delivery depends on the type of plant variety. For example, deadlines differ for winter cereals, spring crops, maize, rice, cotton, fruit crops, and ornamental plants. The exact sample deadline is determined by the crop category and the applicable testing schedule.
Protection term
The protection term is 20 years from the date of grant of the breeder’s right. For trees and grape varieties, the protection term is 25 years. The protection term may be extended by up to 10 years by the competent authority.