Breeders Section | Plant Variety Protection

The development of new plant varieties is the essential work of plant breeders, enabling them to meet the growing demand of improved varieties from farmers and consumers while adapting to changing climates. Through innovative plant breeding and research, breeders develop improved varieties that offer higher yields, better resistance to pests and diseases, and greater adaptability to environmental challenges.

These advancements not only support sustainable agriculture but also contribute to global food security, nutrition and economic growth.

Frequently asked questions

In order to obtain protection, the breeder needs to file individual applications with the authorities of UPOV members entrusted with the task of granting breeders’ rights.

UPOV has developed UPOV PRISMA, an online tool which helps applicants to apply for breeders’ rights with all participating PVP Offices, via the UPOV website.

While the UPOV Convention requires members of the Union to provide for appropriate legal remedies for the effective enforcement of breeders’ rights, it is a matter for breeders to enforce their rights.

Yes. The definition of variety in the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, Article 1 (vi) states that “variety” means 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 breeder’s right are fully met, can be “defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes […]”. The notion of “combination of genotypes” covers, for example, synthetic varieties and hybrids.

UPOV/EXN/VAR “Explanatory Notes on the Definition of Variety under the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention”

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