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Abstract
Notwithstanding the ambiguous research and productivity promoting effects of plant variety
protections (PVPs), even in developed countries, many developing countries have adopted
PVPs in the past few years to comply with their Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS) obligations. Seeking and maintaining PVPs reserves options to an
expected revenue stream from the future sale of protected varieties, the value of which varies
for a host of reasons. In this paper we empirically examine the pattern of plant variety
protection applications in China since its PVP laws were first introduced in 1997. We place
those PVP rights in the context of China’s present and likely future seed markets to identify
the economic incentives and institutional aspects that influence decisions to develop and
apply for varietal rights.