Wageningen, The Netherlands

Source: http://www.wageningenur.nl/nl/show/CDIcourse_PVP_2016.htm

A strong Plant Variety System can ensure and improve food security in any country. This course aims at:

• facilitating the introduction and practical implementation of Plant Breeders’ Rights in countries where legislation on this matter is being developed or has recently been passed;
• a better understanding of how a Plant Variety Protection System works for those who are involved in the registration of new varieties.

Plant breeders’ rights

Intellectual property rights for plant breeders

The protection of the rights of plant breeders is an important stimulus for the development of better plant varieties. The possibility to claim intellectual property rights on a variety, gives a breeder the exclusive rights to exploit it and to prevent others from doing so illegally.
Many countries are therefore developing and implementing a legal framework for the protection of plant varieties in intellectual property rights system. Besides developing legislation, the implementation of the Plant Breeders' Rights system has far-reaching consequences of a legal, institutional, technical, financial and commercial nature. In this course, participants will learn about these consequences, and about practical ways to implement new regulations.

Course subjects

The following subjects will be introduced through lectures, discussions and working groups:

• legal aspects – legal framework, requirements of the international Union for the Protection of New Varieties  of Plants (UPOV), other systems, patents, regulations relating to genetic resource use;
• institutional aspects – procedures and administration, organisational setup, variety registration systems, collaboration and testing;
• technical aspects – the principle of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS), practical DUS-testing, UPOV guidelines, field testing, biochemical/molecular techniques, statistics, data analysis, reporting, variety denomination;
• exploitation of plant breeders rights – enforcing rights, royalty collection, farm saved seed.

Target audience

• you have a position in the variety registration system  or have a position that will give you such responsibilities in the near future;
• preferably you are from a country that has recently developed a plant variety protection law or that is currently in the process of developing such legislation.

If you register timely and have been accepted, you will be invited to take part, free of charge, in the Distance Learning Course (DL-205) of UPOV, entitled ‘Introduction to the UPOV System of Plant Variety Protection under the UPOV Convention.'

Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation

Website: http://www.wur.nl

Published: October 1, 2015