The other day, while scrolling through social media, I came across a scary warning: "If you resell this variety, you could be arrested! Be careful!" Wait, is reselling really not allowed? That got me curious, so I took another look into what the Plant Variety Protection Law (commonly called the Seed and Seedling Law in Japan) actually covers. Incidentally, this law was revised in 2021 (remember that commotion at the time?), so in this article, I’ll walk you through what’s up-to-date.
The Plant Variety Protection Law is legislation that protects "new varieties" of crops and horticultural plants. If you think of it as something like a "patent" or "copyright" for plants, that’s a pretty good image (in fact, in English it's referred to as a "Plant Patent").
Developing a new variety of plant takes years—generations of careful cross-pollination and cultivation, evaluating results, and even more years if you want to multiply those winners. It takes space, time, and tons of effort. If anyone could just go and clone that variety and sell it on their own, all that effort gets rewarded only once, and would totally discourage professionals from creating fabulous new varieties.
That’s where the Plant Variety Protection Law comes in: by prohibiting buyers from copying new varieties without permission, it helps ensure plant breeders can benefit from their innovations. In short, its goal is to support the development of new varieties and the progress of agriculture and horticulture.
To cut to the chase: reselling itself is allowed. What’s not allowed is propagating a registered variety (i.e., multiplying it yourself), and then selling or giving away those propagated plants. The revised law requires permission for “self-propagation,” which can be confusing, but if you’re just propagating a plant for your own use—like as a hobby or for your home garden—you won’t be penalized (see Ministry of Agriculture Q&A, "Question 30"). Plus, if you didn’t propagate it but instead are reselling a plant you simply bought and grew bigger, that’s totally outside the law’s restrictions (see "Question 22").
One thing to watch out for: gifting is not allowed. Even giving propagated plants to neighbors is prohibited under the law.
And with the 2021 revision, it’s now illegal to take registered plants out of the country. If you knowingly resell a plant to someone planning to export it (even if you didn’t propagate it), that’s also not allowed. Realistically, it’s hard to get in trouble unless you had clear reason to know this, but for example, if someone with a foreign address on Yahoo! Auctions is consistently buying all the registered varieties, it might be wise to talk to the platform’s support before shipping it off (just a tip!).
It’s rare, but sometimes, while growing a registered variety, an offshoot or mutation appears, creating an even more spectacular new variety. In this case, the new variety is considered separate from the original registered one, and you’re free to grow, propagate, and spread it without the original breeder’s permission. If you have a knack for plant mutations, trying for those might just be your thing (just kidding—sort of!).
So, what if you find a listing on Yahoo! Auctions, Mercari, etc., that clearly looks like it was propagated and not an official sale or resale? Here’s the deal: it’s NOT illegal to buy such items so you won’t be in trouble as the purchaser. But if you go through with the transaction, the seller would technically be violating the Plant Variety Protection Law. It’s probably better to resist the urge to buy and not encourage the practice (and, depending on interpretation, it might be illegal even just to list such items, not only to make the sale).
By the way, all this about “don’t propagate and resell or give away” only applies IF you know the variety is registered (and yes, you can’t just claim not to know if you actually do). So, if you genuinely didn’t know and already propagated and shared a registered variety, you’re fine. But to help you avoid any accidental issues in the future, I’ve listed all the succulent varieties I know of that are registered. If you’ve landed on this page... well, no more “I didn’t know” excuses for you!
These next varieties were registered directly by foreign breeders in Japan:
For more, [search "品種登録" (Variety Registration)](/search/?q=%E5%93%81%E7%A8%AE%E7%99%BB%E9%8C%B2) to see a full list.
As you can see from the registered varieties list above, there actually aren’t that many. In the world of succulents, each variety tends to sell in much smaller quantities than, say, major agricultural crops or flowers, and there are so many types that the cost and hassle of registering just aren’t worth it for most breeders. So does that mean you can freely propagate and sell any INregistered variety (which basically means almost all of them)?
To be clear: it’s totally allowed. No matter who created the variety (even if it took years of hard work, or if it’s super rare and you paid a fortune for it), as long as it’s not registered, there’s generally no law (※) restricting its propagation and sale. Having said that, beyond the legal side there’s business etiquette and those unwritten rules: mass producing and undercutting rare varieties someone worked hard to establish, with no respect shown, will almost certainly earn you the cold shoulder from industry folks and collectors alike. There are even breeders who truly want to register and protect their varieties, but can’t afford the costs to do so.
※ In some cases, a trademark registration can prohibit you from selling under a certain name, so that’s another restriction to watch for. Ultimately, the rule is “if you want something protected, register it.” No matter how much a breeder asks you not to propagate or use a certain name, unless they’ve formally registered the variety or name, there’s no obligation on the user to comply.
Of course, "mass propagation" and "making good plants easily available to everyone" are also important to spreading the joy of gardening. There’s no one right answer, legally or morally, but I hope knowing these nuances helps you make your own informed decisions.
[Plant Variety Protection Law Q&A (Ministry of Agriculture - PDF)](https://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/attach/pdf/shubyoho-43.pdf)
[Why Was the Plant Variety Protection Law Revised? (RePlus)](https://shizenenergy.net/re-plus/column/agriculture/the_plant_variety_protection_and_seed_act/)
When it comes to regulations involving succulents, the Plant Variety Protection Law is important, but sometimes the “Act on the Conservation of Endangered Species ≈ Washington Convention (CITES)” is even more relevant. I recommend taking a look at that as well!
CREATIVE COMMONS BY-NC 2026
PUKUBOOK SOME RIGHTS RESERVED.
BenefitFewer ads for a cleaner display♪
