A variety of cultivated plants may be protected as a plant novelty if it meets the criteria set out in article 1 of this Act. The same article sets out criteria for a breeder or any person who has acquired the rights in the variety to be entitled to obtain protection for a variety. The Minister for Agriculture may, in exceptional cases, approve the protection of a variety, which does not satisfy the condition laid down in article 1 if it is found to be in the interest of the agricultural economy