Article 29
Compulsory exploitation right 1. Compulsory exploitation rights shall be granted to one or more persons by the Office, on application by that person or those persons, but only on grounds of public interest and after consulting the Administrative Council referred to in Article 36. 2. On application by a Member State, by the Commission or by an organization set up at Community level and registered by the Commission, a compulsory exploitation right may be granted, either to a category of persons satisfying specific requirements, or to anyone in one or more Member States or throughout the Community. It may be granted only on grounds of public interest and with the approval of the Administrative Council. 3. The Office shall, when granting the compulsory exploitation right, stipulate the type of acts covered and specify the reasonable conditions pertaining thereto as well as the specific requirements referred to in paragraph 2. The reasonable conditions shall take into account the interests of any holder of plant variety rights who would be affected by the grant of the compulsory exploitation right. The reasonable conditions may include a possible time limitation, the payment of an appropriate royalty as equitable remuneration to the holder, and may impose certain obligations on the holder, the fulfilment of which are necessary to make use of the compulsory exploitation right. 4. On the expiry of each one-year period after the grant of the compulsory exploitation right and within the aforementioned possible time limitation, any of the parties to proceedings may request that the decision on the grant of the compulsory exploitation right be cancelled or amended. The sole grounds for such a request shall be that the circumstances determining the decision taken have in the meantime undergone change. 5. On application, the compulsory exploitation right shall be granted to the holder in respect of an essentially derived variety if the criteria set out in paragraph 1 are met. The reasonable conditions referred to in paragraph 3 shall include the payment of an appropriate royalty as equitable remuneration to the holder of the initial variety. 6. The implementing rules pursuant to Article 114 may specify certain cases as examples of public interest referred to in paragraph 1 and moreover lay down details for the implementation of the provisions of the above paragraphs. 7. Compulsory exploitation rights may not be granted by Member States in respect of a Community plant variety right. PART THREE THE COMMUNITY PLANT VARIETY OFFICE CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS