CPVO guidelines for names of plants
Posted in IP Law and Administration on 01 February 2013Naming a new plant is a complicated business. Not only must the name be suitable for marketing the variety, it must also satisfy the requirements of the IP authorities to be considered valid.
In Europe, the Community Plant Variety Office offers guidance on the suitability of plant names. This guidance has recently been updated and can be found here: http://www.cpvo.europa.eu/documents/lex/guidelines/VD_Guidelines_explanatory_note_EN.pdf – PDF file (requires Adobde Acrobat Reader).
In any case, we always recommend that breeders take great care in choosing a name for a plant. PFE would be pleased to offer our advice and opinion on the suitability of a plant name. We also usually recommend filing Community Plant Variety Rights applications using a code name, so that different marketing names and trademark names can be used on the plant label.