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Brussels, |
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Plant variety property rights
The EU’s policy on plant variety property rights is built around a Union-wide system of intellectual property protection for new plant varieties. This system grants a Community plant variety right (CPVR), which functions in a similar way to a patent but is specifically designed for plant breeding. Once granted, the right is valid across the entire European Union, giving breeders a single title rather than requiring separate national protections.
The framework is aligned with the international rules of the TRIPS/WTO agreements and the UPOV 1991 Convention, which means the EU system is part of a broader international regime for the protection of new plant varieties. (Food Safety)
The system is implemented by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), based in Angers, France. By applying to the CPVO, breeders can obtain a single intellectual property right that applies throughout the EU. For most plant species, protection lasts 25 years. For vines, trees, groups of flower bulbs, woody small fruits, woody ornamentals, potatoes and asparagus, protection lasts 30 years. The CPVO is financially independent from the EU institutions and adopts legally binding decisions on plant variety protection titles.
The policy is also linked to institutional oversight through the Standing Committee Community Plant Variety Rights, whose meetings provide a framework for discussion and follow-up in this area.
Under Evaluation, the system has been reviewed in the context of broader work on seed and plant propagating material legislation and in connection with the functioning of the CPVO itself. The relevant background is brought together under Evaluation.
Under Legislation, the field is governed by six legal acts, gathered under Legislation. Overall, the EU approach is designed to encourage plant breeding and innovation by giving breeders a harmonised and enforceable intellectual property right across the single market.
The framework is aligned with the international rules of the TRIPS/WTO agreements and the UPOV 1991 Convention, which means the EU system is part of a broader international regime for the protection of new plant varieties. (Food Safety)
The system is implemented by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), based in Angers, France. By applying to the CPVO, breeders can obtain a single intellectual property right that applies throughout the EU. For most plant species, protection lasts 25 years. For vines, trees, groups of flower bulbs, woody small fruits, woody ornamentals, potatoes and asparagus, protection lasts 30 years. The CPVO is financially independent from the EU institutions and adopts legally binding decisions on plant variety protection titles.
The policy is also linked to institutional oversight through the Standing Committee Community Plant Variety Rights, whose meetings provide a framework for discussion and follow-up in this area.
Under Evaluation, the system has been reviewed in the context of broader work on seed and plant propagating material legislation and in connection with the functioning of the CPVO itself. The relevant background is brought together under Evaluation.
Under Legislation, the field is governed by six legal acts, gathered under Legislation. Overall, the EU approach is designed to encourage plant breeding and innovation by giving breeders a harmonised and enforceable intellectual property right across the single market.
