Transcript No Slide Title

International Workshop on seed
Session: Intellectual Property Rights in Seed Sector
INTRODUCTION TO UPOV
Ben Rivoire
Technical/ Regional Officer, UPOV
Antalya, Turkey
December 3, 2013
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Preview
• Introduction to UPOV and Plant Breeder’s
Rights (PBR)
• Members and statistics
• Relationship between the UPOV Convention
and other International Treaties
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UPOV: INDEPENDENT INTERGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATION
The International Convention for the
Protection of New Varieties of Plants
established in 1961
The International Union for the
Protection of New Varieties of Plants
Union internationale pour la
protection des obtentions végétales
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.
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UPOV MISSION STATEMENT
“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”
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• Plant breeding is long and expensive
BUT
• Plant varieties can be easily and quickly
reproduced
Breeders need protection to recover
investment
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UPOV MISSION STATEMENT
“To provide and promote an effective
system of plant variety protection
(PVP), […]”
Plant Breeder’s Right (PBR)
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There are no restrictions on who
can be considered to be a
breeder under the UPOV
system: a breeder might be an
individual, a farmer, a
researcher, a public institute, a
private company etc.
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BREEDER
The person who
bred, or discovered
and developed, a
variety
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DISCOVERY
OR FIND
DEVELOPMENT
IS NECESSARY
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Preview
• Introduction to UPOV and Plant Breeder’s
Rights (PBR)
• Members and statistics
• Relationship between the UPOV Convention
and other International Treaties
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71 members of UPOV (green)
16 initiating States + 1 organization (brown)
24 States + 2 organizations in Contact with
the UPOV Office (orange)
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The boundaries shown on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UPOV concerning the legal status of any country or territory
MEMBERSHIP OF UPOV
Examination of Laws
Draft Laws examined
Council sessionSituation
Advice
in UPOV
Ghana
October 24, 2013 Positive
November 1, 2012 Positive
United Republic of Tanzania
November 1, 2012 Positive
(For mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar)
(mainland Tanzania)
and
March 22, 2013
(Zanzibar)
(law adopted)
Positive
(draft Bill)
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Plant variety protection statistics
99,409
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Preview
• Introduction to UPOV and Plant Breeder’s
Rights (PBR)
• Members and statistics
• Relationship between the UPOV Convention
and other International Treaties
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WTO/ TRIPS
UPOV
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
WTO/TRIPS
Protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in order to reduce
distortion and impediments to international trade
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WTO
TRIPS Article 27
Patentable subject matter
1.
…, patents shall be available for any invention, …,
3.
Members may also exclude from patentability […]
(b)
plants and animals other than micro-organisms, …. However,
Members shall provide for the protection of plant varieties either by
patents or by an effective sui generis system or by any
combination thereof …
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Independent systems in the Seed Sector
Plant Breeders’ Rights
Other IP rights (e.g.
patents, trademarks)
Official registers of
varieties admitted to
trade
Seed Certification
Biosafety regulations
Phytosanitary
regulations
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