CPVO intends to increase technical verification inspections

Following a recent meeting at the Community Plant Varieties Office (CPVO – the body which administers EU Plant Variety Rights), the CPVO made clear that it intends to intensify technical verification inspections of varieties for which EU PVR has been granted. The breeders’ organisation CIOPORA announced the following: “The CPVO is obliged to carry out such technical verifications according to Article 64 of the EC Regulation 2100/94 in order to verify the continuing existence unaltered of the protected variety. On our question the CPVO explained that they intend to intensify these technical verifications in the future. This could lead to very negative consequences for a breeder who has not maintained his variety correctly but who has selected mutations of the variety with better characteristics and now sells these mutations under the name and the “disguise” of the protected variety.” PFE wishes to remind all breeders of ensuring the following:

• that the variety offered for sale is exactly the plant that was subjected to DUS testing for PVR. Failure in this respect could leave you unable to defend your PVR and charge royalties for the variety;
• and that a true reference stock of the variety is maintained in a secure location for the purposes of comparison in the event of the CPVO undertaking a technical verification examination. Failure to do so could result in the revocation of the grant of PVR.