Plant Variety Protection

Plant Variety Protection: Secure your Breeder’s Rights and Monetise your Innovations

PADIMA specialises in Industrial Property and provides a comprehensive service for Plant Variety Protection. Secure exclusive rights to exploit your new plant varieties by obtaining Breeder’s Rights. Protect your investments in plant research and development (R&D) and access new markets with our expert advice on Plant Variety Protection.

Plant Variety Protection: Exclusive Rights for Your New Creations

What is Plant Variety Protection?

Plant Variety Protection is an intellectual property system that grants breeders of new plant varieties an exclusive right to their commercial exploitation for defined period of time. Known as Plant Breeder’s Rights, this protection encourages innovation in the plant sector and recognises the efforts of plant breeders.

Requirements for Plant Variety Protection:

To obtain a Breeder’s Right, a plant variety must meet the following DNUS requirements (distinctiveness, novelty, uniformity and stability):

• Distinctiveness (D): must be clearly distinguishable from any other variety already well known at the filing date.
• Novelty (N): must not have been sold or transferred to third parties prior to the filing date, within the time limits established by law.
• Uniformity (U): must be sufficiently homogeneous in its essential characteristics so that it is sufficiently uniform.
• Stability (S): Its essential characteristics must remain unchanged after successive reproductions or multiplications.

Our services in Plant Variety Protection

• Initial advice on the feasibility of protection: assessing whether your plant variety meets the requirements for protection and inform you of the options available.
• Preparation and submission of applications for Plant Breeder’s Rights: managing the entire application process with the relevant plant variety registration offices (national and EU).
• Assistance with technical examinations of distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS): advising and preparing you to successfully pass the technical examinations required to obtain the right.
• Maintenance of Plant Breeder’s Rights: managing the payment of annual fees and other necessary procedures to keep your plant breeder’s rights in force.
• Legal defence against infringements of Plant Breeder’s Rights: representing you in legal actions against the unauthorised exploitation of your protected plant varieties.
• Drafting of plant variety licence agreements: drafting of licence agreements for the commercialisation and exploitation of your varieties, protecting your rights.
• Audit of plant variety portfolios: evaluating the status and protection of your plant varieties and proposing improvement strategies.

Who is this service for?

• Companies breeding new plant varieties.
• Research and development centres in the plant sector.
• Plant breeders and improvers.
• Seed companies and nurseries.
• Agricultural cooperatives.
• Universities and agricultural training centres.

Do you want to protect your new plant varieties and ensure a return on your investment? Discover how we can help you obtain and defend your Plant Breeder’s Rights.