This Act is enacted to protect rights in plant varieties, facilitate improvements in plant varieties, and implement a plant seed administration system in order to promote farmers' interests and benefit agricultural development. With respect to matters not provided for in this Act, other applicable laws shall govern.

"Competent authority" as referred to in this Act shall mean the Council of Agriculture under the Executive Yuan in the case of the central government, the special municipality government in the case of a special municipality, and the county/city government in the case of a county/city.

The terms as used in this Act shall have the following meanings:
1. "Variety" shall mean a plant grouping within a botanical taxon of the lowest rank which expresses its characteristics through a single genotype or a certain combination of genotypes, which can be distinguished by at least one characteristic from any other plant grouping, and which remains unchanged in its main characteristics when undergoing a designated method of propagation.
2. "Transgenic technology" shall mean the transfer of an exogenous gene into a plant cell using technologies such as genetic engineering or molecular biology to cause a gene recombination phenomenon so that the plant expresses the characteristic of the exogenous gene. Such technology, however, shall not include traditional hybridization, mutation, in vitro fertilization, cell and protoplast fusion wherein the cell and protoplast are within the same family of plant taxonomy, somatic mutation, or chromosome doubling.
3. "Transgenic plant" shall mean a plant or seed that is obtained by means of transgenic technology, as well as the progeny derived from such plant or seed.
4. "Breeder" shall mean a person who engages in the work of breeding plant varieties, or discovering and developing plant varieties.
5. "Plant seed" shall mean an entire plant, or any part thereof, that is ready for propagating or planting. [Note: The Chinese word“種苗”is translated to "plant seed" for the sake of convenience, and refers not only to seeds, but also to young plants, no matter whether they are sexually reproduced or asexually reproduced.]
6. "Plant seed enterprise" shall mean an enterprise that is engaged in the business of breeding, propagation, importation, exportation, or sale of plant seeds.
7. "Sale" shall mean the act of selling at a fixed price, or bartering.
8. "Promotion" shall mean the act of introducing or providing plant seeds to others for their use.

Botanical taxons governed by this Act include seed plants, ferns, mosses, multicellular algae, and other cultivated plants that are cultivated for the production of agricultural products.

The "right to apply for a plant variety right" shall mean the right to apply for a plant variety right in accordance with this Act.
The "holder of the right to apply for a plant variety right" shall mean the breeder or any of the breeder's assignees or heirs, unless otherwise specified in this Act or as otherwise provided in an agreement between the parties.

The plant variety right and/or the right to apply for a plant variety right may be assigned or inherited.
At the time of filing an application for a plant variety right, an assignee or heir shall state the breeder's name and submit supporting documents concerning such assignment or inheritance.
The assignment or inheritance of a plant variety right or the right to apply for a plant variety right shall not be binding as against a bona fide third party, unless it has been recorded.

No right to apply for a plant variety right shall be the subject of a pledge.
If the plant variety right is used as the subject of a pledge, the pledgee shall not exercise such plant variety right, unless an agreement between the parties otherwise specifies.

Unless otherwise specified in an agreement between the parties, the plant variety right and the right to apply for a plant variety right for a plant variety bred by, or discovered and developed by, an employee within the performance of job duties shall belong to the employer; provided that the employer gives the employee an adequate reward or remuneration.
A plant variety bred, or discovered and developed, within the performance of job duties as referred to in the preceding Paragraph shall mean a plant variety for which work was completed by an employee in an employment relationship.
Where a funds provider invites another person to engage in the work of breeding a plant variety, the agreement between the parties shall govern with respect to the ownership of the plant variety right and the right to apply for the plant variety right. If such agreement fails to specify the same, the plant variety right and the right to apply for the plant variety right shall belong to the breeder of the plant variety, provided that the funds provider shall be entitled to make use of such plant variety.
In accordance with the requirements of Paragraph 1 or 3 of this Article, where the plant variety right and the right to apply for the plant variety right belong to an employer or the funds provider, the breeder shall enjoy the right to have his or her name indicated as the breeder.

Where a plant variety bred by, or discovered and developed by, an employee is outside the performance of his or her job duties, the employee shall be entitled to the plant variety right and the right to apply for the plant variety right, provided that if the employee has made use of the employer's resources or experience while working on such plant variety, the employer may make use of such plant variety in its business after paying reasonable remuneration to the employee.
Where an employee completes a plant variety outside the performance of his or her job duties, the employee shall give a written notification to the employer of such fact; and, if necessary, the employee shall inform the employer of the breeding process, or the discovery and development process, of the plant variety.
If the employer fails to raise an objection to the employee within six months of receipt of the written notification under the preceding Paragraph, the employer shall not claim that such plant variety is completed within the performance of the employee's job duties.

If the employer and the employee under the preceding Article have entered into an agreement which provides that the employee shall not be entitled to the plant variety right and/or the right to apply for the plant variety right, such provision shall be null and void.

An application for a plant variety right may not be accepted from a national of a foreign country where such applicant's country and the Republic of China (R.O.C.) are not parties to an international treaty or members of an organization for the protection of plant varieties; where there is no treaty or agreement for the mutual protection of plant varieties between such foreign country and the R.O.C.; where no agreement for the mutual protection of plant varieties has been concluded by and between organizations or institutions of the foreign country and those of the R.O.C. and has been approved by the central competent authority; or where the applicant’s country does not accept applications for protection of plant variety rights from nationals of the R.O.C.