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MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT OF VIETNAM |
THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM |
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No. 13/2026/TT-BNNMT |
Hanoi, February 27, 2026 |
ON TRAINING PROGRAM FOR LAWS REGARDING RIGHTS TO PLANT VARITIES
Pursuant to the Law on Intellectual Property No. 50/2005/QH11 amended by the Law No. 36/2009/QH12, Law No. 42/2019/QH14, Law No. 07/2022/QH15, and Law No. 131/2025/QH15;
Pursuant to Decree No. 35/2025/ND-CP dated February 25, 2025 of the Government on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam;
At the request of the Director General of Plant Production and Protection Department;
The Minister of Agriculture and Environment promulgates the Circular on training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties.
This Circular applies to the training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties prescribed in point b, clause 57, Article 1 of the Law on Intellectual Property No. 131/2025/QH15 dated December 10, 2025.
This Circular applies to state management authorities, training institutions and entities related to organization and implementation of the training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties.
Article 3. Training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties
1. Purposes
The training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties aims to improve professional expertise and knowledge of Vietnamese laws; international treaties related to plant variety protection; regulations on the testing of distinctness, uniformity and stability of plant varieties (hereinafter referred to as “DUS testing”). It also improve skills in applying the laws, performing procedures for establishing rights, searching and using information regarding plant variety protection; raise the quality of human resources engaging in rights representation activities; and improve the professionalism and effectiveness in managing and protecting plant varieties.
2. The training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties includes Vietnamese laws; international treaties and cooperation agreements regarding plant variety protection in which Vietnam is a member; professional skills in rights representation for plant varieties and DUS testing; professional skills in searching and using information regarding plant variety protection including:
a) Topic 1: Overview of the Plant Variety Protection System (introduction to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the UPOV Convention, international agreements and treaties on plant variety protection to which Vietnam is a member, and other international cooperation activities on plant variety protection);
b) Topic 2: Vietnamese laws on management and protection of plant varieties;
c) Topic 3: Professional skills in plant variety rights representation and skills for searching information regarding plant variety; general regulations on DUS testing;
d) Topic 4: Training on preparing dossiers on registration for plant variety protection and handling real-life scenarios.
3. Form and duration of training:
a) Training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties shall be conducted in one of the following forms: in person; online; combination of in person and online. The form of training shall be decided by training institutions in accordance with actual conditions and training quality.
b) The theoretical content of the training program shall not exceed 70% while practical exercises and discussions shall be at least 30%.
c) Duration of training: 05 days, at least 40 periods.
4. Instructors
a) Instructors teaching legislative documents regarding plant variety protection shall hold at least a university degree, have a minimum of 05 years of experience in plant variety protection, possess knowledge of laws on plant variety protection, or have participated in the development of legislative documents on plant variety protection.
b) Instructors teaching content for DUS testing shall hold at least a university degree, have at least 05 years of experience in conducting DUS testing, and have been granted a certificate or official recognition for DUS testing.
5. Each training class shall not exceed 40 participants.
6. Testing, evaluation and certification
The training institution shall organize testing and evaluation of learners’ learning outcomes at the end of the course in accordance with its internal regulations and rules; ensure objectivity, transparency and compliance with the content of the training program for laws regarding rights to plant varieties. Learners who satisfy requirements are awarded a Certificate of training for laws regarding rights to plant varieties in accordance with the form in the Appendix attached to this Circular.
1. Plant Production and Protection Department shall:
a) Supervise, provide guidelines and organize the implementation of this Circular.
b) Provide professional opinions for training documents, participate in evaluation of learning outcomes of learners at the request of training institutions.
c) Post the list of individuals granted certificates on the website of the Plant Production and Protection Department after receiving the list sent by training institutions as prescribed in point c, clause 2 of this Article.
2. Training institutions for laws regarding rights to plant varieties
a) Comply with laws on education, higher education, vocational education and intellectual property.
b) Develop plans, programs, documents; submit annual reports (before January 15 annually) or submit reports on an ad hoc basis to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (via the Plant Production and Protection Department) regarding plan for organization of training in the year (including training programs, materials and other activities) and training results of the previous year. In cases where a plan for training is developed after the reporting deadline, training institutions shall submit an additional report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (via the Plant Production and Protection Department).
c) Within 30 days from the issuance of certificates, training institutions shall post the list of individuals granted certificates in accordance with laws on protection of personal data on the website of training institutions, and send to the Plant Production and Protection Department for posting on the website of the Department.
d) Collect feedback of learners via the Learner Evaluation Form regarding the content, teaching methods and training quality; compile and archive evaluation results in accordance with the laws.
1. This Circular comes into force from April 01, 2026.
2. Certificates of training for laws regarding rights to plant varieties issued before the effective date of this Circular shall be valid as those issued in accordance with this Circular.
3. Heads of units affiliated to ministerial authorities; Presidents of People’s Committees of provinces and cities; relevant organizations and authorities are responsible for implementing this Circular.
Organizations and individuals shall report any issues arising during the implementation to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (via the Plant Production and Protection Department) for consideration and resolution./.
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PP. MINISTER Hoang Trung |
