The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) and the Italian Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Italia) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which entered into force on 19 October 2022.
This MoU has a duration of 3 years and establishes areas of cooperation in relevant thematic matters and activities of mutual interest, mainly related to the project ICC Agri-Food Hubs.
The cooperation will primarily consist in joint advocacy and information campaigns aimed at raising awareness on relevant policies and practices in the field of plant variety protection.
Such cooperation would also materialise in the form of “knowledge exchange” activities such as the organization of webinars, trainings and workshops aiming to increase technical and legal expertise among companies in the agri-food chain with specific emphasis on plant innovation and Intellectual Property, including R&D.
“The EU Plant Variety rights system, managed by the CPVO, plays a key role in meeting the EU’s Green Deal objectives, in fostering innovation and sustainability in Europe, and in supporting the completion of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals”, said Francesco Mattina, President of the CPVO, when signing this MoU.
“As an Agency of the European Union, the CPVO must therefore become more proactive at explaining the intricacies and benefits of plant variety protection to a larger number of industries and SMEs located in the various EU countries. This new cooperation with ICC Italia, who is the institutional representative of thousands of companies, has been designed to meet this goal”, he added.
Ettore Pietrabissa, President of ICC Italia, said“the signing of this MoU represents a step toward greater food security at a crucial moment, characterized by high levels of uncertainty, for the world's agri-food supply chains. The current food crisis, as well as the threat of climate change, teach us that diversification-both geographically and in terms of plant varieties-must be a key principle for greater resilience. Therefore, increased collaboration, within the private sector, on intellectual property protection in this area proves essential”.
More information about ICC Italia: https://www.iccitalia.org/