The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants introduction in Intellectual Property Right Subject

1. THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE
PROTECTION OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS
Dr. Pratibha Bisen
Dept. Plant Breeding & Genetics
College of Agriculture, Balaghat
JNKVV Jabalpur (M.P.)

2. Definition of UPOV
The International Union for the Protection
of New Varieties of Plants, known as
“UPOV,” is an intergovernmental
organization with headquarters in Geneva.
The acronym UPOV is derived from the
French name of the organization, “Union
internationale pour la protection des
obtentions végétales”.

3. Origins of UPOV
UPOV has been established by the International Convention for the
Protection of New Varieties of Plants (the “UPOV Convention”), which
was signed in Paris in 1961.
The Convention entered into force in 1968. It was revised in Geneva
in 1972, 1978 and 1991.
The 1978 Act entered into force on November 8, 1981.
The 1991 Act entered into force on April 24, 1998.

4. The introduction of the UPOV system of plant variety protection
and UPOV membership were found to be associated with:
(a) increased breeding activities,
(b) greater availability of improved varieties,
(c) increased number of new varieties,
(d) diversification of types of breeders (e.g. private breeders,
researchers),
(e) increased number of foreign new varieties,
(f) encouraging the development of a new industry competitiveness on
foreign markets, and
(g) improved access to foreign plant varieties and enhanced domestic
breeding programs.

5. The effect of Plant Breeders’ rights
Both the 1978 and the 1991 Acts set out a minimum scope of protection and
offer member States the possibility of taking national circumstances into
account in their legislation.
Under the 1978 Act, the minimum scope of the plant breeder’s right requires
that the holder’s prior authorization is necessary for the production for
purposes of commercial marketing, the offering for sale and the marketing of
propagating material of the protected variety.
The 1991 Act contains more detailed provisions defining the acts concerning
propagating material in relation to which the holder’s authorization is required.

6. Like all intellectual property rights, plant breeders’ rights are granted for a
limited period of time, at the end of which varieties protected by them pass
into the public domain.
The rights are also subject to controls, in the public interest, against any
possible abuse.
It is also important to note that the authorization of the holder of a plant
breeder’s right is not required for the use of his variety for research purposes,
including its use in the breeding of further new varieties.
The agricultural, horticultural and forestry industries and the final consumer
all ultimately gain from the additional stimulus that plant breeders’ rights give
to the creation of new varieties that are better suited to satisfy man’s needs.

8. Why new varieties of plants are protected
Protection is afforded to new varieties of plants both as an incentive to the
development of agriculture, horticulture and forestry and to safeguard the
interests of plant breeders.
Improved varieties are a necessary, and very cost-effective, element in the
quantitative and qualitative improvement of the production of food,
renewable energy and raw material.
Breeding new varieties of plants requires a substantial investment in terms
of skill, labor, material resources, money and time.

10. The opportunity to obtain certain exclusive rights in respect of his new
variety provides the successful plant breeder with a better chance of
recovering his costs and accumulating the funds necessary for further
investment.
In the absence of plant breeders’ rights, those aims are more difficult to
achieve since there is nothing to prevent others from multiplying the
breeder’s seed or other propagating material and selling the variety on a
commercial scale, without recognizing in any way the work of the breeder.

11. Reasons for becoming a member of UPOV
By becoming a member of UPOV, a State signals its intention to protect plant
breeders on the basis of principles that have gained worldwide recognition and
support.
It offers its own plant breeders the possibility of obtaining protection in the
other member States and provides an incentive to foreign breeders to invest in
plant breeding and seed production on its own territory.
It has the opportunity through membership of UPOV to share in and benefit
from the combined experience of the member States and to contribute to the
worldwide promotion of plant breeding.
A constant effort of intergovernmental cooperation is necessary to accomplish
such an aim and this requires the support of a specialized secretariat.

13. The functions of UPOV
The main activities of UPOV are concerned with promoting international
harmonization and cooperation, mainly between its member States, and with
assisting countries in the introduction of plant variety protection legislation.
A smoothly operating international trade requires uniform, or at least
mutually compatible, rules.
The fact that the UPOV Convention defines the basic concepts of plant
variety protection that must be included in the domestic laws of the members
of the Union leads, in itself, to a great degree of harmony in those laws and in
the practical operation of the protection systems.
UPOV serves as a forum to exchange views and share experiences.

14. UPOV has established a detailed set of general principles for the conduct
of the examination of plant varieties for distinctness, uniformity and
stability, and more specific guidelines for some 160 genera and species.
These normative documents are progressively updated and extended to
further genera and species.
Their use is not limited to plant variety protection but extends to other
areas such as national listing and seed certification.
The UPOV member States and the UPOV Secretariat maintain
contacts with and provide legal, administrative and technical
assistance to the governments of a growing number of States
expressing interest in the work of the Union and in the idea of
plant variety protection. Regular contacts are also maintained
with many intergovernmental and international non-
governmental organizations

15. Benefits of protection
The report highlights the many and varied benefits of new plant varieties.
Notable among these are: economic benefits, such as varieties with
improved yields which lead to reductions in the price of end-products for
consumers, or improved quality leading to higher value products with
increased marketability; health benefits, for example through varieties with
improved nutritional content, environmental benefits, such as varieties with
improved disease resistance or stress tolerance; and pleasure, such as that
afforded by ornamental plants.

16. Government and Management of UPOV
The Council of UPOV consists of the representatives of the members of the
Union.
Each member that is a State has one vote in the Council. Under the 1991 Act,
certain intergovernmental organizations may also become members of the
Union.
The Council is responsible for safeguarding the interests and encouraging the
development of the Union and for adopting its program and budget.
The Council meets once each year in ordinary session. If necessary, it is
convened to meet in extraordinary session.

18. The Council has established a number of Committees, which meet once
or twice a year. The Secretariat of UPOV (called “the Office of the
Union”) is directed by a Secretary-General.
Under a cooperation agreement with the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), an organization belonging to the United Nations
system, the Director General of that Organization is the Secretary-General
of UPOV. He is assisted by a Vice Secretary-General.
The Office has a small international staff.

19. UPOV: The Impact of Plant Variety
Protection
Florist shops dazzle with flowers of ever more diverse colors, petal
shapes and perfumes. Market displays of fruit and vegetables offer
tempting new varieties – bigger, plumper, more flavorsome or appealing
to the eye. Food items, such us bread, potatoes, rice, are cheap and of a
high quality.
 These advances all depend on the work of plant breeders. Today
breeders, whether individual enthusiasts, farmers, research institutions or
multinational corporations, work to develop new plant varieties.

20. Improved varieties are a necessary and cost-effective means of improving
productivity, quality and marketability for farmers and growers.
However, breeding new varieties of plants requires a substantial
investment of skills, labor, material resources, money and time – it can take
more than 15 years to bring a new variety to the market.
Intellectual property (IP) protection is therefore afforded to plant breeders
as an incentive for the development of new varieties to contribute to
sustainable progress in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

21. The Geneva-based International Union for the Protection of New
Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is an independent intergovernmental
organization.
Its mission is to provide and promote an effective system of plant
variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new
varieties of plants for the benefit of society.
UPOV administers the UPOV Convention, the purpose of which is to
ensure that its members acknowledge the achievements of breeders of
new varieties of plants by granting them an intellectual property right on
the basis of a set of clearly defined principles.

22. The opportunity to obtain certain exclusive rights in respect of new
varieties provides successful plant breeders with a better chance of
recovering their costs and accumulating the funds necessary for
further investment.
Without such rights, there would be nothing to prevent others from
reproducing the new variety and selling it on a commercial scale,
with no benefit accruing to the breeder.

23. TRIPS Agreement
(Article 28)
UPOV
(1991 Act – Article 14)
“1. A patent shall confer on its owner the
following exclusive rights:
(a) where the subject matter of a patent is a
product, to prevent third parties not having
the owner’s consent from the acts of:
“(1) [Acts in respect of the propagating
material]
(a) Subject to Articles 15 and 16, the following
acts in respect of the propagating material of the
protected variety shall require the authorization of
the breeder:
making,
using,
(i) production or reproduction
(multiplication),
(ii) conditioning for the purpose of
propagation,
offering for sale, (iii) offering for sale,
selling, or (iv) selling or other marketing,
Importing (v) exporting,
(vi) importing,
for these purposes that product;” (vii) stocking for any of the purposes mentioned
in (i) to (vi), above.”

24. Thank you