In occasion of the CPVO's joint stand at IPM Essen 2023, CPVO President Francesco Mattina was interviewed by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) for their latest publication: 'AIPH Special Edition 2023', which is focused on IPM Essen 2023.
AIPH is the global association for ornamental horticulture. Founded in 1948, its mission is to reignite and uphold an appreciation of plants and to build a world in which humanity, technology, and nature exist in a healthy and stable equilibrium. In 2018, AIPH acquired FCI (FloraCulture International), the horticulture industry’s leading B2B digital publication with a global readership of over 125 000.
Initially, President Mattina was asked about it's dacade-long career whithin the CPVO - President Mattina was appointed Head of Legal Unit in 2013 and later Vice President in 2018 - as well as about what attracted him the most to the organization, to which he replied that the complexity of managing a system including both legal and technical matters is, in his view, the most fascinating aspect of the CPVO.
The interview later shifted to the topic or ornamnetal horticulture and President Mattina took this opportunity to underline the need for the CPVO to build in-house technical data and analytics capability to better understand the business trends of the future. He also adressed the recent CPVO study conducted in collaboration with EUIPO which showcases the benefits of the EU plant breeders' rights system. "This study - states President Mattina - shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Europe’s economy investing in plant breeding..Europe is a treasure trove of specialised crops owned by SMEs and not only by multinationals per se".
President Mattina ended the interview by explaingin the difference between patent and PVR and why the latter is necessary for protecting plant varieties.
Consult the publication online