Article 14

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1. Notwithstanding Article 13 (2), and for the purposes of safeguarding agricultural production, farmers are authorized to use for propagating purposes in the field, on their own holding the product of the harvest which they have obtained by planting, on their own holding, propagating material of a variety other than a hybrid or synthetic variety, which is covered by a Community plant variety right.

 

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall only apply to agricultural plant species of:

(a) Fodder plants:

Cicer arietinum L. - Chickpea milkvetch

Lupinus luteus L. - Yellow lupin

Medicago sativa L. - Lucerne

Pisum sativum L. (partim) - Field pea

Trifolium alexandrinum L. - Berseem/Egyptian clover

Trifolium resupinatum L. - Persian clover

Vicia faba - Field bean

Vicia sativa L. - Common vetch

and, in the case of Portugal, Lolium multiflorum lam - Italian rye-grass

(b) Cereals:

Avena sativa - Oats

Hordeum vulgare L. - Barley

Oryza sativa L. - Rice

Phalaris canariensis L. - Canary grass

Secale cereale L. - Rye

X Triticosecale Wittm. - Triticale

Triticium aestivum L. emend. Fiori et Paol. - Wheat

Triticum durum Desf. - Durum wheat

Triticum spelta L. - Spelt wheat

(c) Potatoes:

Solanum tuberosum - Potatoes

(d) Oil and fibre plants:

Brassica napus L. (partim) - Swede rape

Brassica rapa L. (partim) - Turnip rape

Linum usitatissimum - linseed with the exclusion of flax.

 

3. Conditions to give effect to the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 and to safeguard the legitimate interests of the breeder and of the farmer, shall be established, before the entry into force of this Regulation, in implementing rules pursuant to Article 114, on the basis of the following criteria:

- there shall be no quantitative restriction of the level of the farmer's holding to the extent necessary for the requirements of the holding,

- the product of the harvest may be processed for planting, either by the farmer himself or through services supplied to him, without prejudice to certain restrictions which Member States may establish regarding the organization of the processing of the said product of the harvest, in particular in order to ensure identity of the product entered for processing with that resulting from processing,

- small farmers shall not be required to pay any remuneration to the holder; small farmers shall be considered to be:

- in the case of those of the plant species referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article to which Council Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 of 30 June 1992 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops ( 4 ) applies, farmers who do not grow plants on an area bigger than the area which would be needed to produce 92 tonnes of cereals; for the calculation of the area, Article 8 (2) of the aforesaid Regulation shall apply,

- in the case of other plant species referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, farmers who meet comparable appropriate criteria,

- other farmers shall be required to pay an equitable remuneration to the holder, which shall be sensibly lower than the amount charged for the licensed production of propagating material of the same variety in the same area; the actual level of this equitable remuneration may be subject to variation over time, taking into account the extent to which use will be made of the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 in respect of the variety concerned,

- monitoring compliance with the provisions of this Article or the provisions adopted pursuant to this Article shall be a matter of exclusive responsibility of holders; in organizing that monitoring, they may not provide for assistance from official bodies,

- relevant information shall be provided to the holders on their request, by farmers and by suppliers of processing services; relevant information may equally be provided by official bodies involved in the monitoring of agricultural production, if such information has been obtained through ordinary performance of their tasks, without additional burden or costs. These provisions are without prejudice, in respect of personal data, to Community and national legislation on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing and free movement of personal data.

 

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( 4 ) OJ No L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 12. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1552/93 (OJ No L 154, 25.6.1993, p. 19).