Legal & Governance Affairs Unit | CPVO

Legal seminar

7th International Seminar on Plant Variety Rights & IP protection of innovation in agriculture

***Please note that because of the COVID19 sanitary crisis, this event is postponed. We will inform you of the new date once it has been decided.***

The 7th International Seminar on Plant Variety Rights & IP protection of innovation in agriculture is a two-day seminar focusing on the Intellectual Property system for the protection of plant varieties. This seminar will take place at the University of Alicante, Spain, on 12-13 May 2020.

This seminar receives international support and participation from experts from the Community Plant Variety Office

12 May 2020
Open days

Made in Angers 2020: open doors at the CPVO

The "Made in Angers 2020" activities offer the opportunity to businesses and organisations established in the Angers Loire Valley Region to open their doors and explain their activities to the public. It enables visitors to go behind the scenes and witness the skills, research, innovation and production capabilities of some of Angers' most important economic and societal actors, including the Community Plant Variety Office.

To book a visit at the CPVO, please complete the online registration

17 February 2020
Webinar : a guide to Geographical Indications, Trademarks & Plant Variety Denominations

In this webinar co-organised by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) and the European IP Helpdesk (EUIPHD) on 13 December 2019, Ms Orsola Lamberti (CPVO) and Mr Michele Dubbini (EUIPHD) explain the differences between Geographical Indications, Trademarks & Plant Variety Denominations.

The webinar lists a series of concrete examples and offers an opportunity to answer the following questions:
What are the differences between Geographical Indication, Trademarks and Plant Variety Denominations? What are the peculiarities and characteristics of the registration

31 January 2020
Webinar: Technical examination of plant varieties applying for CPVR. Part I: Seed propagated species

In cooperation with the EU IP Helpdesk, the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) organised this webinar explaining the process and requirements for technical examinations (DUS tests) of plant varieties applying for Community Plant Variety Rights. This webinar (Part I) is presented by Ms Anne Weitz, CPVO's technical expert for agriculture species, who explains how the CPVO carries out technical examinations with a particular focus on seed propagated species.

Structure of the presentation:
Explanation of the technical requirements for a Community Plant Variety Right

31 January 2020
Webinar: the name of a plant variety in the Community Plant Variety Right system (CPVR)

In this webinar, recorded at the EUIPO Academy in May 2018, Ms Bénédicte Legrand, Denomination Expert at the CPVO, explains the process in which names are given to newly protected plant varieties in the European Union. This webinar also outlines how this CPVR "naming" process fits with the rules and recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP).

You can play this webinar on YouTube or with subtitles in EN, FR, DE, IT, ES on the dedicated page of the EUIPO

31 January 2020
Webinar: Legal proceedings at the CPVO

This webinar recorded at the EUIPO Academy in February 2019 and featuring Ms Anne Gardener, CPVO's Board of Appeal Registrar, covers legal proceedings before the CPVO and its Board of Appeal. The webinar provides information on the different proceedings a party can ask the CPVO or the Board of Appeal to open when in search of redress.

To watch this webinar you will be redirected to YouTube: play

31 January 2020
Webinar: les caractéristiques du système européen de protection des obtentions végétales

In this webinar recorded for Vegepolys Valley,Ms Laetitia Denécheau, Technical Expert at the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), gives an overview of the European Plant Variety Protection system managed by the CPVO. This webinar is in French.

Webinaire en français organisé par Vegepolys Valley le 14 septembre 2018 et animé par Laetitia Denécheau, experte technique à l'Office Communautaire des Variétés Végétales (OCVV), qui y explique de manière détaillée le système européen de protection des obtentions végétales ainsi que les modalités liées aux

31 January 2020
Webinar: Introduction to Plant Variety Protection in Europe

In this webinar recorded for the EU IPR Helpdesk in May 2019, Ms Orsola Lamberti, Legal Advisor at the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), gives an overview of the European Plant Variety Protection system managed by the CPVO.

Structure of the webinar:
What is plant breeding and how it influences our everyday life What is a Plant variety What are the value that the EU legislator took into consideration when designing the current protection system How Plant Variety Rights are protected in the EU: the CPVO How to apply for protection
To watch

31 January 2020
Video: introduction to the INVITE project

A new video introducing the INVITE project has been published today.

The video features François Laurens, Research Director at INRA & coordinator of the INVITE project, Martin Ekvad, President of the CPVO, and Päivi Mannerkorpi, European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, who introduce the main objectives of the project. It was recorded at the kick-off meeting of the project last July in Angers.

Watch the video on YouTube

INVITE stands for "Innovation in variety testing" and is a

15 January 2020
New European Commission report on the protection & enforcement of intellectual property rights in third countries

The European Commission published on 9 January 2020 its new report on protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in third countries.

The report puts intellectual property related to plant varieties in the spotlight. Plant breeding can play an important role in increasing productivity and quality in agriculture, whilst minimising the pressure on the environment. The EU wants to encourage investment and research in this area, including in the development of new crops resistant to drought, flood, heat and salinity to better respond to the negative

13 January 2020