Varieties of all botanical genera and species, including, inter alia, hybrids between genera or species, may form the object of Community plant variety rights.
Variety is a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of a plant variety right are fully met, can be:
- defined by the expression of the characteristics that results from a given genotype or combination of genotypes,
- distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the said characteristics, and
- considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.
A plant grouping consists of entire plants or parts of plants as far as such parts are capable of producing entire plants, both referred to hereinafter as ‘variety constituents’.
A system of Community plant variety rights is hereby established as the sole and exclusive form of Community industrial property rights for plant varieties. Community plant variety rights shall have uniform effect within the territory of the Community and may not be granted, transferred or terminated in respect of the abovementioned territory otherwise than on a uniform basis.
Community plant variety rights shall be granted for varieties that are:
DISTINCT: A variety shall be deemed to be distinct if it is clearly distinguishable by reference to the expression of the characteristics that results from a particular genotype or combination of genotypes, from any other variety whoseexistence is a matter of common knowledge on the date of application
UNIFORM: A variety shall be deemed to be uniform if, subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently uniform in the expression of those characteristics which are included in the examination for distinctness, as well as any others used for the variety description.
STABLE: A variety shall be deemed to be stable if the expression of the characteristics which are included in the examination for distinctness as well as any others used for the variety description, remain unchanged after repeated propagation or, in the case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each such cycle.
NEW: A variety shall be deemed to be new if, at the date of application , variety constituents or harvested material of the variety have not been sold or otherwise disposed of to others, by or with the consent of the breeder , for purposes of exploitation of the variety:
(a) earlier than one year before the abovementioned date, within the territory of the Community;
(b) earlier than four years or, in the case of trees or of vines, earlier than six years before the said date, outside the territory of the Community.
The holder or holders of Community plant variety right can accomplish the following acts :
(a) production or reproduction (multiplication);
(b) conditioning for the purpose of propagation;
(c) offering for sale;
(d) selling or other marketing;
(e) exporting from the Community;
(f) importing to the Community;
(g) stocking for any of the purposes mentioned in (a) to (f).
Duration : The term of the Community plant variety right shall run until the end of the 25th calendar year or, in the case of varieties of vine and tree species, until the end of the 30th calendar year, following the year of grant
Source : cpvo.europa.eu
