– Law for the Protection of New Plant Varieties No. 8631 of March 6, 2008, as amended.
– Biodiversity Law No. 7788 of April 30, 1998, as amended.
– Regulations to the Biodiversity Law No. 34433-A of March 11, 2008.
– Law for the National Office of Seeds No. 6289 of December 4, 1978, as amended.
– Regulations to the Law for the National Office of Seeds No. 12907-A of July 7, 1981.
– Law for the Promotion, Development and Encouragement of Organic Agricultural Activity No. 8591 of June 28, 2007.
– Forestry Law No. 7575 of February 13, 1996, as amended.
– Regulations to the Forestry Law No. 25721-A of January 23, 1997, as amended.
– Regulations the Law for Protection of New Plant Varieties No. 35677-MAG of January 11, 2010.

– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.
– International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), 1991 Act, since January 12, 2009.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since December 14, 2011.

Applicant: natural or legal persons and their successors or assignees. Applicant is presumed to be the breeder.

Nationals or foreigners not living in the country: have the same rights as resident nationals, if there is recognized reciprocity. Foreign applicants must appoint an agent domiciled in Costa Rica.

Assignment: provided for.

Conditions of protection: varieties must be distinctive, novel, homogeneous, stable and must have agronomical or commercial value.

Distinctiveness: varieties are distinguishable if they possess one or more distinct characteristics of importance, with little fluctuation, as compared to previous registrations and/or applications.

Novelty: a variety is considered novel if commercial exploitation in Costa Rica began less than a year prior to the date of filing or, if exploitation started abroad, less than four years prior to the date of filing for trees and six years for other varieties. If commercial exploitation is conducted by a third party through illegal means, these periods do not apply.

Homogeneity: based on the reasonableness of fluctuations in the relevant characteristics, taking into account the means of propagation and excluding aberrant samples.

Stability: determined if after successive cycles of propagation the essential characteristics remain present.

Registration authority: National Seeds Office (OFINASE).

Priority: provided for; granted based on pending applications in countries with recognized reciprocity. Priority may not exceed twelve months and must be claimed upon filing the application, with accompanying documents to follow within three months.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Written application in Spanish, sworn under oath. Must include:
– Name and address of applicant
– Name and address of breeder, if different from applicant
– Botanical classification (genus, species, subspecies or botanical variety)
– Proposed denomination
– Country of origin
– Method of obtention (selection, hybridization, mutation, transgenesis, other)
– Information concerning pending applications or registrations in other countries
– Date in which commercial exploitation began.
2. Power of attorney, notarized;
3. Certificate of Incorporation, with Apostille or legalized by a Costa Rican Consulate;
4. Supporting documentation, namely technical report with description of the variety’s characteristics (based on UPOV published guidelines), as well as report on novelty, stability, homogeneity and commercial value;
5. A sample of the seed or tissue culture, or reference as to where the same is deposited for safekeeping in Costa Rica (can be entrusted to a third party).

Examination: formal and substantive.

Publication: once in the Official Journal and once in a national newspaper.

Opposition: must be submitted within two months of the date of publication.

Application kept secret: confidential information contained in the application may be kept from public record.

Beginning of protection: date of granting.

Provisional protection: upon successful registration, damages arising from information disclosed as the result of publication may be claimed.

Duration: twenty years; twenty-five years for evergreens.

Annuities: provided for.

Scope of protection: exclusive rights concerning breeding, reproduction, multiplication, production, sale, offer for sale, commercialization, export, import and possession of seeds.

Exceptions to protection: protection does not extend to small and micro breeders, to academic or scientific activities concerning the variety, non-commercial private acts, and acts leading to the creation of new varieties.

Maintenance: the registration authority may periodically request the breeder to submit samples of the variety for control purposes.

Rights of prior user: recognized.

Amendment of errors: provided for.

Nullification: request may be filed during the period of protection, based on: (a) rights of prior user; (b) lack of novelty or distinctiveness; and (c) lack of homogeneity or stability of the variety at the time of issuance of the certificate.

Licenses: require registration.

Compulsory licenses: may be requested by a third party or granted ex officio in the case of national emergencies or if exploitation by third parties is considered essential to fulfill the basic necessities of a specific sector of the population and there is a lack of offer. No compulsory licenses may be granted within the first three years of issuance of the certificate.

Infringement and penalties: provided for.