The work compares the Brazilian
legislation on the protection of plant varieties to the demands of the TRIPS Agreement, to
which the country is bound as a member of the World Trade Organization. Therefore, it seeks to establish whether Brazil adequately observes its international commitments in such field – which has been an important source of conflict with some of the country’s main trade partners. In order to do so, it was necessary not only to establish the concept and history of
intellectual property rights, especially in what regards plant varieties, in the international system, but also to carry out an analysis of the Brazilian decision to accede to the UPOV 1978 Convention. The main documents used in the research are the last two revisions of the UPOV Convention, 1978 and 1991, as well as the texts of the Brazilian plant variety bills and law. As a conclusion, this study finds that the Brazilian
legislation on plant varieties protection not only fulfils the requirements of the World Trade Organization, but it goes beyond to become a document that favors the bigger seeds and seedling industries, to the farmers’ and final consumers’ disadvantage.Key words: plant varieties, intellectual property, Brazil, plant varieties protection, Brazilian law.