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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, in part 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 article we empirically examine the pattern of PVP 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 influences on decisions to develop and apply for varietal rights.
