Seminar on the Enforcement of Plant Breeders’ Rights under the UPOV Convention (2016)

organized by
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Viet Nam

in cooperation with
the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)

and

the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
and with the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan

_____________________________________________

Ms. Yolanda Huerta, Legal Counsel, UPOV

Session 1 : Measures for the effective enforcement of breeders’ rights: key challenges

a) Perspective of breeders’ associations

Asian and Pacific Seed Association	Mr. Narendra K. Dadlani, Director, Technical Affairs, The Asia & Pacific Seed Association (APSA)
American Seed Trade Association	Mr. John Duesing, Senior Research Director, Intellectual Property Asset Protection, Dupont Pioneer

b) Experiences of breeders’ enforcing their rights

Breeders Trust	Mr. Geert Staring, General Director, Breeders Trust, Belgium
Private seed company	Mr. Madoka Koshibe, President of Mikado Kyowa Seed Co., Ltd., Japan
Legal and institutional requirements for effective breeders’ rights enforcement: the experience of the Anti-Infringement Bureau for Intellectual Property Rights on Plant Material (AIB)	Mr. Casper van Kempen, Managing Director, AIB, Belgium

Session 2 : Experiences in the enforcement of breeders’ rights in selected countries/organizations

Experiences of UPOV members in Africa	Mr. Evans Sikinyi, International Consultant, Kenya
Argentina: the experience of the Instituto Nacional de Semillas (INASE)	Ms. María Laura Villamayor, Legal adviser, Presidency Unit, National Institute of Seeds (INASE)
China	Ms. Luo Xia, Judge, Third Civil Tribunal, The Supreme People's Court of People’s Republic of China
European Union	Mr. Martin Ekvad, President, Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO)
France	Mr. François Burgaud, Director of External Relations, French Association for Seeds and Seedlings (GNIS)
Japan	Mr. Katsumi Yamaguchi, Plant Variety Protection Office, Intellectual Property Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
Republic of Korea	Mr. Jun Yon Jang, Senior Examiner, Korea Seed and Variety Service
United States of America	Ms. Kitisri Sukhapinda, Patent Attorney, Department of Commerce, Office of Policy and International Affairs, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Viet Nam	Mr. Thanh Minh Nguyen, Director, Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO),Department of Crop Production (DCP), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

Discussion : Effective enforcement of breeders’ rights: key challenges and possible measures

Concluding remarks