Of course, such transfers are publicised in the official gazettes of the intellectual property offices concerned and this is included in any fees that are paid to them. So there is no need to further publicise it in any third-party publications, particularly as these publications have no official status.

The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) has a useful webpage showing some of the scam letters that are currently doing the rounds. If you receive a letter that you think might be a scam, it would be worth checking against this list. Click here to visit the WIPO page.

I can report that our customer was savvy to the scam and wasn’t taken in, particularly after they checked back with us to see what we knew about it.

Now, the CPVO has announced that it will soon cease issuing PVR grant certificates on paper. From Monday 23 April 2012, all grant certificates (plus decision notices and variety descriptions) will be available as electronic files with electronic signatures in the secure area of the CPVO website (the extranet). For an undefined transition period, the CPVO will also issue these documents in paper form in the normal manner, but at some future date, no paper forms will be issued except on specific request (which, we suspect, will attract an administration fee).

For our clients, PFE will download the grant certificates when they are issued and submit them electronically to breeders without charge. If breeders require a paper version, we will be happy to provide these without charge if we are in possession of the electronic document (it is not clear whether the CPVO will provide an electronic archive of grant certificates and related documents going back to 1995 – it would be around 100,000 documents, by our estimate, so a formidable task).

Applicants/PVR owners should also be able to access their own documents (and only their own documents) from the CPVO extranet if they have a log-in username and password. PFE can not obtain usernames and passwords for clients – application must be made directly to the CPVO. Please contact us if you would like advice on doing this.

We have now had confirmation from the Government that PVRs will be included in the new legislation. Not only that, but the necessary Statutory Instrument to include PVR will be laid before Parliament at the same time as the main legislation for the Patent Box. Furthermore, it will include not only UK PVR but also Community PVR administered by the CPVO.

This is great news and a successful outcome for our lobbying efforts. It will make a positive and significant financial difference to companies involved in plant breeding and innovation in the UK.

To arrange a meeting, contact us now. The diary is pretty full already!

Our friends at Globe Planter in France are a good example of a company that does a good job of promoting plants, both to their grower and retailer customers and also to the end user. Here is an excellent example of this, a webpage that promotes Euphorbia, including three varieties licensed by PFE (in French).

We are absolutely delighted that the Government has now brought forward draft legislation to bring the Patent Box into law, effective from next year, and that they say that PVR will be included. However, whilst the guidance notes say that PVR are included (and one assumes that will be both UK PVR issued by the Plant Variety Rights Office (PVRO) and Community Plant Variety Rights issued by the Community Plant Varieties Office (CPVO)), we see no specific mention of PVR in the draft legislation – merely reference to the potential for Government to add to the list of included IP by Statutory Instrument. When will such an SI be brought forward?

We also notice that for “licensed-in” IP, there is a requirement for exclusivity, at least at national level. Our understanding is that a national exclusivity would be in conflict with EU competition/freedom of movement of goods legislation.

We shall be consulting on these matters and seeking clarity from Government.

Helleborus Walberton’s® Rosemary is a fantastic plant.

But don’t take my word for it – read this article.

Greenhouse Grower covers the trials here.

University of Illinois website