In the context of these Terms of Use:
"UPOV e-PVP" means the web-based electronic system developed by UPOV for the administration of plant variety protection by UPOV members. UPOV e-PVP comprises the following components:
UPOV e-PVP comprises the following components:
1. UPOV PRISMA: on-line tool to assist applicants in making PVP applications at PVP office
3. UPOV DUS Exchange Module for PVP offices to: cooperate with other PVP offices in the examination of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (“DUS”).
"The Software" means the Software for UPOV e-PVP including the software for any of its components.
“PVP Office” is the authority entrusted by a UPOV member with the task of granting breeders’ rights.
"Beneficiary" means any UPOV member which uses UPOV e-PVP, including the use of one or more UPOV e-PVP components.
UPOV members using UPOV e-PVP acknowledge compliance with these terms of use, PLUTO terms of use and UPOV PRISMA terms of use, as appropriate. The Beneficiary agrees to ensure the compliance with these terms of use by all persons who may have access to UPOV e-PVP and related software.
UPOV grants the Beneficiary a non-exclusive and non-transferable right to use UPOV e-PVP for the purposes specified in these terms of use under the conditions described herein.
UPOV e-PVP is provided to assist PVP Offices in the administration of PVP applications and grants. The responsibility for any decision, communication or publication made using UPOV e-PVP rests with the Beneficiary in accordance with the applicable legislation.
The Software and related know-how in UPOV e-PVP herein is provided by on an “as-is, where-is” basis, and UPOV does not represent, warrant, or otherwise guarantee, expressly or impliedly, the merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, suitability, integrity, accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the said software or any information disclosed or described or contained in the said software.
UPOV shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, liquidated, special, punitive, or exemplary damage or penalties to the Beneficiary or to anyone using or relying on the software, including, but not limited to, losses of business, revenue or profits, as a consequence of using any of the components of UPOV e-PVP. UPOV shall not be liable or deemed to be in default for any delays or failure in performance or interruption of service resulting directly or indirectly from any cause or circumstance beyond its reasonable control.
UPOV reserves the right to revise these terms of use at any time. Any revised terms of use will be posted on UPOV’s website and notified to the Beneficiary. Revisions shall take effect immediately following posting of the new terms of use.
The Beneficiary acknowledges and recognizes the ownership of UPOV in any intellectual and other property rights. Ownership and title in the original and modified Software are and shall at all times remain with UPOV. “Rights” in relation to UPOV e-PVP, and all such Rights shall at all times be and remain the sole property of UPOV.
The Beneficiary shall not have the right to use UPOV’s logo unless specifically authorized by UPOV in writing and shall be subject to such conditions of use as may be agreed by the Beneficiary and UPOV. Any modifications or additional features developed for UPOV e-PVP by the Beneficiary shall be available for incorporation within UPOV e-PVP for other beneficiaries without specific permission of the Beneficiary.
UPOV e-PVP has been implemented in a technical environment which is designed to provide high availability and to be reasonably fault tolerant.
UPOV makes no representation and gives no warranty that the service provided via UPOV e-PVP will meet the Beneficiary requirements, be uninterrupted, timely or error-free.
At the time of joining UPOV e-PVP, the Beneficiary will specify a Focal point(s) for UPOV e-PVP to provide support in the implementation of UPOV e-PVP. The Beneficiary should promptly notify the UPOV e-PVP team at upovepvp@upov.int if there is any error or malfunction in UPOV e-PVP. UPOV will respond to reported issue/s on a best-efforts basis, considering the priority and severity of the issue/s as reported by the Beneficiary. UPOV will provide regular and timely feedback to the Beneficiary on the resolution of the identified issue/s.
The UPOV e-PVP team will attempt to inform the Beneficiary as soon as possible of any outage that might materially affect the normal use of UPOV e-PVP. However, UPOV will not be liable for delay to transactions or disruptions to operations of the Beneficiary arising directly or indirectly from any such outage. It is in the Beneficiary’s best interest to have adequate contingency plans to protect the integrity of their business operations and ensure that they can proceed with their PVP services despite any disruption or delay occurring in respect of UPOV e-PVP.
UPOV offers a cloud hosting service for the software as an alternative to hosting the software on infrastructure owned and/or controlled by the Beneficiary. The cost of UPOV hosting the service will be borne by the Beneficiary. The Beneficiary may choose the UPOV cloud hosting service which is provided in accordance with the conditions specified in an exchange of letters with the relevant Beneficiary.
The Beneficiary can choose to host and install UPOV e-PVP on infrastructure owned and/or controlled by them.
UPOV will not be liable, in any respect, for any modifications or any errors, losses or damages resulting from modifications made on any UPOV e-PVP module by the Beneficiary without prior agreement by UPOV.
UPOV uses block chain technology to implement UPOV e-PVP.
UPOV does not supply computer and networking equipment, Internet connectivity, or commercial licensed software. The acquisition, installation, configuration, support and maintenance of such equipment and software that is required for use of UPOV e-PVP is the responsibility of the Beneficiary.
Cloud administration and operation of the corresponding IT systems shall be the responsibility of UPOV except where the Beneficiary implements their own hosting option. It the latter case, it shall be the responsibility of the Beneficiary.
UPOV will provide specifications and recommendations for the necessary infrastructure required to support the implementation of UPOV e-PVP for the Beneficiary’s own hosting option.
Responsibility for the deployment of UPOV e-PVP rests with UPOV while the responsibility for the use of UPOV e-PVP rests with the Beneficiary.
Customization and features resulting from customization are not included in the terms of use of UPOV e-PVP.
The Information Security controls for UPOV e-PVP will be based upon the ISO/IEC 27001/2 controls frameworks as relevant. These controls may be supplemented from other control frameworks as applicable. The Information Risk Management framework, which is defined within the ISMS Manual, is derived from the ISO/IEC 27005 Standard for Information Risk Management and is aligned with the Organizational Enterprise Risk Management framework.
The effective management and security of UPOV e-PVP requires that usage is routinely monitored and analyzed for evidence of misuse and attempted or actual security breaches. The Beneficiary consents to this monitoring being undertaken by UPOV in connection with the Beneficiary’s use of UPOV e-PVP.
UPOV may update UPOV e-PVP. Information on maintenance releases or updates will be posted on UPOV’s website and notified to the Beneficiary. The terms of use will continue to apply to those updates and improvements.
Updates of UPOV e-PVP may require the updating of other software used by the Beneficiary (i.e. software which is not specified in these terms of use). The Beneficiary shall be responsible for updating any software required to operate UPOV e-PVP, including but not limited to operating systems, database management systems, and office productivity software.
The Beneficiary may terminate the cooperation concerning the use of UPOV e-PVP, subject to six months written notice. In such an event, UPOV will provide the Beneficiary with a detailed procedure for data recuperation including the history of transactions.
Obligations in relation to UPOV e-PVP implementation prior to the termination date shall not be affected.
UPOV may also suspend, and/or terminate use of or access to UPOV e-PVP for its own reasons and without any fault on the part of the Beneficiary. In such circumstances, UPOV will endeavor to give the Beneficiary reasonable prior written notice of such suspension or termination where it considers that this is appropriate, at its absolute discretion.
After the termination date, UPOV will discontinue providing any updates of UPOV e-PVP.
Any dispute arising from the use of UPOV e-PVP shall be resolved by negotiation in good faith between UPOV and the Beneficiary concerned.
Nothing in or relating to the use of UPOV e-PVP shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of any of the privileges and immunities of UPOV.
Date: September 28, 2023
