Summary of the role and functions
of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO)

 

Definition and Origin of the CPVO

The Community Plant Variety Office, known as “CPVO”, is a Community organization with headquarters in Angers, France. The CPVO started to operate on April 27, 1995 and is a decentralized European Union agency having its own legal status.

 

Purpose of the CPVO

The purpose of the CPVO is to provide a system for the protection of plant varieties valid throughout the European Union. The system is based on the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention. Community plant variety rights have uniform effect within the territory of the member States of the European Union. The 27 countries forming the European Union (EU) are, at present: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Remark on IP implications of the U.K.’s referendum vote of June 23, 2016 to leave the European Union: the U.K. left the EU on January 31, 2020. There is a transition period, presently expected to end on December 31, 2020 to negotiate the terms of the withdrawal and implement the changes involved. Following Brexit, Community Plant Variety Rights (CPVR) will no longer apply in the U.K., and for new rights, separate applications will need to be filed. An agreement on the U.K.’s withdrawal from European Union has been agreed by the U.K. government and the European Council. Under the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community October 19, 2019, the holder of a Community Plant Variety Right (CPVR), which is registered or granted before the end of the transition period (December 31, 2020), will become the holder of a comparable registered and enforceable plant variety right for the same plant variety in the U.K., inheriting the remaining term of protection and date of filing or date of priority from the CPVR.

 

Effects of the Holder’s Rights

Under the Community legislation, generally the effects of the Community plant variety rights in respect to variety constituents or harvested material of the protected variety, require the holder’s prior authorization for production or reproduction (multiplication); conditioning for the purpose of propagation; offering for sale, selling or other marketing; exporting from the EU; importing to the EU; stocking for any of the above-mentioned purposes. Under certain conditions, the holder’s authorization may also be required in relation to varieties, which are essentially derived from the protected variety; varieties which are not distinct from the protected variety under specific conditions; and varieties whose production requires the repeated use of the protected variety.

The Community legislation also provides for some specific limitations and derogations from the Community plant variety right, mainly for the purposes of safeguarding agricultural production.

Duration: like all intellectual property rights, the Community plant variety rights are granted for a limited period of time: 25 years as of the grant or 30 years as of the grant in the case of varieties of vine and tree species, at the end of which the protected varieties pass into the public domain.

Annual fees: the first annual fee shall be paid within sixty days of the date of grant. Subsequent annual fees shall be paid on the first day of the calendar month preceding the month in which the anniversary date of the grant falls.

Cancellation: Community plant variety rights can be annulled or cancelled and are also subject to controls (technical verifications), in the public interest, against any possible abuse.

 

Functions of the CPVO

The main activity of the CPVO is granting Community plant variety rights having uniform effect within the territory of the European Union and which may not be granted, transferred or terminated in respect to the above-mentioned territory otherwise than on the uniform basis. The CPVO keeps a Register of applications for the Community plant variety rights. Cumulative protection is prohibited; any variety protected by the Community plant variety right cannot be a subject of a national plant variety right or any patent for that variety.

Conditions for protection: to be eligible for protection, varieties have to be distinct from existing, commonly known varieties; sufficiently uniform; stable and new in the sense that they must not have been commercialized prior to certain dates established by reference to the date of the application for protection.

Filing procedure: an application for the Community plant variety protection can be filed either directly through the CPVO or through one of the national offices who subsequently transfers it to the CPVO. For applicants not having a domicile, seat or establishment within the territory of the European Union, a procedural representative with a domicile, seat or establishment therein is required. Electronic filing: available. Application fees payable to the CPVO are reduced for online filings as of January 1, 2016.  Examination: the services of the CPVO check that the application is complete and eligible. If no obstacle prevents a grant of Community protection, the CPVO takes the necessary steps for organizing a technical examination of the candidate variety. The aim of the technical examination (known also as “DUS” examination) is to verify that the variety is distinct from others, uniform in its characteristics and stable in the long run. The candidate variety must also be designated by a variety denomination, which is also subject to verification by the CPVO. If the examination results are satisfactory and all the other requirements are fulfilled, the CPVO grants a Community Plant Variety Right.

 

Organization of the CPVO

The CPVO is composed of the Administrative Council, the Management, the Technical Unit, the Finance and Administrative Unit, the Legal Unit, the Quality Audit Service, the Human Resources and Public Relations Service, the IT Service and the Board of Appeal.

The Administrative Council supervises and advises the CPVO, formulates its general orientations and guidelines, provides opinions, constitutes the budgetary authority of the CPVO, examines and controls both its activities and those of its President.

The CPVO Management is ensured by its President, nominated by the Council of the European Union.

The Board of Appeal is responsible for deciding on appeals made against certain kinds of decisions taken by the CPVO. The decisions of the Board of Appeal can be appealed against at the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.

Various Community institutions such as the Council of the European Union, the Court of Auditors (control of income and expenditure accounts), the European Parliament and the European Commission impinge directly or indirectly on the activities of the CPVO.

 

Office

Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) – P.O. BOX 10121, 49101 Angers Cedex 02, or 3 boulevard Maréchal Foch, 49000 Angers, France, tel (+33(0)2) 4125 6400, fax (+33(0)2) 4125 6410, e-mail: cpvo@cpvo.europa.eu ; Internet address: http://cpvo.europa.eu/en