Evaluation of the EU legislation on plant variety rights

The UMBRELLA ASSOCIATION ON CULTIVATED PLANT AND LIVESTOCK BREED DIVERSITY has 25 member organisations in German speaking countries and works for the development of legal and policy frameworks supportive to on-farm diversity conservation since 2009. ---- We note with great worries that intellectual property rights over living organisms and everything around their trade are being strengthened.

The Polish Nasienna Chamber (PIN) is the chamber of commerce representing the plant breeding and seed sector in Poland. Plant breeders and variety owners grouped in the PIN fully support the Commission’s initiative to evaluate the Community Plant Variety Rights Regulation and its functioning in the Member States.

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Hudson River Biotechnology (HRB) is a CRISPR plant breeding company based in Wageningen, Netherlands. We welcome the ECs evaluation of Regulation 2100/94 on CPVR as a crucial step toward modernizing IP enforcement and ensuring legal clarity for plant breeding innovations.

Initiative unverblümt www.archemitzukunft.net From the perspective of the non-commercial and self-organized maintainers of agricultural biodiversity, it is obsolete to even consider extending plant variety protection, which is actually breeders' protection. Why?

From the point of view of non-commercial and self-organised conservationists of agri-cultural biodiversity, it is obsolete to consider extending plant variety rights, and in fact breeders’ protection. Why? Neither national legislation nor the EU draft can guarantee that not only newly-breeded varieties, but also varieties of common good bred by us or by our ancestors, will be registered.

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The CPVO institution allows for the application of intellectual property rights for breeders of cultivated plant varieties. The application procedure is not complicated. We have no objections to the organization of the CPVO, but we have several postulates related to the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) 2100/94. We would like to draw attention to the provision of Article 10 entitled "Novelty".

The Finnish Seed Trade Association sees an evaluation of the council regulation on Community plant variety rights (2100/94) as a logical next step after the Commission adopted the legislative proposal on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material in July 2023. Our association supports the breeders exemption and farmers privilege which are key principles in the evaluated regulation.

Three decades after the adoption of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 (the CPVR Regulation), it is essential to adapt the plant variety protection framework to address current technical, social, and environmental challenges. The EU must ensure that its regulations respect, protect and fulfill the right to food.

Limagrain, a global company with deep local roots, operates in 53 countries. As a major actor in the seed sector, we appreciate the European Commission's evaluation of plant variety rights legislation and regulation. Plant breeding, requiring 7-10 years of R&D, is a costly and specialized activity. The seed sector invests 15% of its revenues in research annually, similar to the pharmaceutical industry.

Bayer is investing significantly in plant breeding through its CropScience division, and released more than 400 new varieties worldwide in 2024, many of which in Europe in corn, oilseed rape and vegetables. Bayer is using, and is supportive of, the CPVR Regulation, but considers that it has not achieved all of the goals initially intended by the legislator, and that it would be necessary to strengthen certain…

Inari is thankful for the opportunity to provide input in the context of the evaluation on the implementation of the European Unions Community Plant Variety Right Regulation 2100/941 (CPVR Regulation) and the operation of the Community Plant Variety Protection Office (CPVO). A document with our complete argumentation is attached to this summary.

Plant variety rights may be applied for by breeders and discoverers of plant varieties. This right of ownership gives the breeder the exclusive right to trade and reproduce that plant for 25 to 30 years. All plant species are included.

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The development of new plant varieties, in a world facing growing challenges, including global warming, is a strategic research activity. This research activity requires a lot of financial and human investment. The current legislation in the European Union, based on Regulation (EC) No 2100/94, strikes a balance between the possibility of pursuing research activities, the maintenance of genetic diversity and the…

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Assosementi favours the European Commission’s initiative to revise Regulation (EU) No 2100/94, considering it extremely important in order to ensure the protection of intellectual property and the push for innovation. While the current system is effective, we consider it necessary to adapt to scientific progress and can be improved in terms of effectiveness and clarity.

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The Federation of Swedish Farmers is an interest and business organization for agriculture and family forestry in Sweden. With almost 128 000 individual members and some 65 000 enterprises we are the largest organization for small enterprises in Sweden. We are also members of Copa Cogeca. We are grateful to the Commission that we have been given this opportunity to provide our feed-back on Plant variety rights.

Copa and Cogeca welcome regular evaluation of the Common Plant Variety Right (CPVO). Copa and Cogeca are strong advocates for Community Plant Variety Rights (CPVR), recognising the CPVR system as a significant advancement that has greatly benefited the plant breeding sector in Europe. Currently, breeders in Europe develop around 3,000 new varieties each year, demonstrating the success of this system.

Copa and Cogeca welcome regular evaluation of the Common Plant Variety Right (CPVO). Copa and Cogeca are strong advocates for Community Plant Variety Rights (CPVR), recognising the CPVR system as a significant advancement that has greatly benefited the plant breeding sector in Europe. Currently, breeders in Europe develop around 3,000 new varieties each year, demonstrating the success of this system.

Agencja Nasienna Sp. z o.o. (AGNAS) operates in Poland as a breeders’ organisation within the meaning of the law governing the establishment of the agricultural derogation. Our members are almost all agricultural plant-breeding companies, domestic and foreign, active in the seed market of our country.

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The German Raiffeisen Association (DRV) is the political umbrella association of all cooperatives and cooperative enterprises in the German agri-food sector. As an important part of the food value chain, the 1656 member companies have a turnover of EUR 82.6 billion in the production, trade and processing of plant and animal products, with 114.000 employees and 6000 people trained.

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ARCHE NOAH has over 30 years experience in the preservation and dissemination of cultivated plant diversity. Our feedback draws from our conservation work we maintain one of the largest private collections of seed and fruit diversity in Europe and our collaboration with companies who make available diverse varieties and species to gardeners and farmers operating outside of conventional, intensive agriculture…

DER AGRARHANDEL represents the interests of the agricultural trade in Germany. Its member companies supply the agricultural sector with seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and animal feed. They collect agricultural raw materials such as grain and oilseeds nationwide and market them as food and animal feed in Germany and abroad.

Call for evidence EU PVP ; Input by APBREBES and ProSpecieRara 30 years have passed since the adoption of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights. In particular, the debate on Farmers' Rights has evolved considerably during this period (ITPGRFA, UNDROP).

Due to the impact of Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 on Community plant variety rights on German agriculture, the German Farmers’ Association e.V. refers to the invitation to comment on the re-evaluation of the Regulation. First of all, the German Farmers’ Association e.V. warmly welcomes the regular evaluation of the Regulation in order to bring about any improvements.

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European Regulation 94 is the result of a perfectly exemplary legal co-arrangement which should be highlighted. The regulation on which the Certification dobtention Végétale is based can be equated with an intellectual property right ‘open’ as opposed to an industrial patent which is a ‘closed IPR’.

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When adapting the existing rules, the interests of (1) consumers, (2) producers and (3) breeders should be taken into account. Consumers require safety and accurate information about the food they buy. They must have no doubts about the products and want to know exactly where the product originates and what safety guarantees are in place.

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Sicasov, a company specialising in the collective management of dobtention rights, uses on a daily basis the tools made available to it by EU plant variety law. In general, the current system of protection is obviously to be maintained, but it could still be supported by some improvements.

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Propagation organization companies (PO companies) act as a link between breeding and agricultural practice in the seed value chain. Both new and established varieties gain access to the broad seed market in agriculture through the work of PO companies.

Coldiretti, the largest farmers’ representative organisation in Italy and Europe with its 1.6 million members, welcomes the possibility to present its views on the evaluation of EU legislation on Plant Variety Rights.

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We are a medium-sized plant breeding company focusing on the breeding of catch crops, legumes and cereals. Conventional breeding includes: Observation, evaluation, selection, crossing, examination in various replicates and variety acceptance and protection. Each of these steps requires expertise, manual work, technical equipment and, last but not least, patience (variety development requires several years).

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As a major user of the plant variety rights system, Rijk Zwaan, supports the evaluation of the CPVR legislation. Rijk Zwaan is a family-owned vegetable and fruit breeding company with its headquarters in the Netherlands and around 4.000 employees spread over subsidiaries in most European countries and subsidiaries in the other continents.

DSV Frø Danmark A/S agrees with the UPOV Convention, and with the CPVO principles. As the current legislation has proven its value for many years. The current CPVR system provides a good incentive to breed and develop better varieties for the benefit of farmers and the environment. The principles of the current well-functioning PVR system should be maintained in the future.

Fairness and balance of interests between IP owners and users must always be ensured. We consider the current plant variety right, with the exception of farm-owned seeds and the!full breeding exception, to be a viable model in the EU and other developed countries. However: access to genetic resources (also up-to-date!) for breeders and farmers must be guaranteed at all times.

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One issue particularly heard by universities and research organisations is that of effective interim protection, because the development of the results of ‘public’ breeding requires strong interaction with private partners and control over the circulation of materials becomes difficult.

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The Agricultural Solutions division of BASF is active in breeding, seed production and marketing of varieties of vegetables and field crops, in Europe and globally. It is holder of multiple PVP and it is well aware how IP protection of seeds materials offers benefits for all players in the agriculture value chain.

The current CPVR system creates an incentive for breeders to develop better varieties to the benefit of farmers, society, and the environment. This is a win-win situation which must not be put on stake, and the core principles of this very well-functioning PVR system need to be preserved.

Position on the revision of plant variety rights in the EU 1. Support for the revision of plant variety rights is supported by the European Commission’s initiative to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the current legislation, in particular Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 (CPVR).

Filed in Polish · English published by the European Commission

For our farm, we constantly need new varieties adapted to changing conditions. Unfortunately, as the large breeding companies are increasingly using techniques in breeding that we do not accept for our organic farming, we launched a separate breeding project in 2009 to breed new vegetable varieties for organic farming. In order to be able to do this, we have set up a support association, the seed:gut e.V.

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At present, the seed exchange rate for cereals is around 55 %. This means that about 45 % will be rebuilt. Irrespective of the fact that the economic advantage of planting is generally not present or at least questionable, the grower thus takes into account both qualitative and phytosanitary risks, as planting has not been checked in the field (field inspection) or in the laboratory (quality check) for the relevant…

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The Danish Seed Council supports the UPOV convention, and the CPVO principles. We find it timely that the European Commission has launched this survey as the current legislation has proved its value for decades. The current CPVR system creates an incentive for breeders to develop ever better varieties to the benefit of farmers, society, and the environment.

European plant variety rights, based on the 1991 UPOV Convention, have proved to be well founded in its basic elements. It provides a reliable framework for the protection of intellectual property in plant breeding, thus promoting innovation and diversity in breeding and agriculture. It is essential to maintain this framework in the upcoming review.

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Le règlement 2100/94 fixe le cadre règlementaire concernant le certificat dobtention végétale (COV) en intégrant la dernière version de la convention UPOV de 1991. LUnion française des semenciers (UFS) soutient ce projet de révision sous réserve que lobjectif soit le maintien de la philosophie du dispositif. La protection par COV est un moteur de compétitivité pour lensemble de la filière semencière.

Plantum is the association of Dutch plant breeders and young plants growers. We represent the most vibrant and active community of plant breeders in the EU and worldwide, holding approximately one third of all currently active Community Plant Variety Rights (CPVR) and many more across the globe.

Dear Sirs/Madams, Please find below our suggestions: - We would need more protection on the harvested material. It should enjoy primary protection when the main purpose of the new variety is the market of fresh fruit as in our case.

The EU Plant Variety Regulation (PVR) is a crucial instrument to balance innovation in plant breeding with farmers’ interests and European resilience. At the heart of that regulation, ‘in order to safeguard agricultural production’ in Article 14 is the farmer’s privilege, which allows them to conserve and reuse seeds of protected varieties under specific conditions, which concerns 58 % of cereal seed production in…

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KWS, as a leading German plant breeding company, welcomes and supports the EU Commissions initiative on the evaluation of the EU legislation on community plant variety rights (CPVR) as an important means to ensure that the EU legal framework continues to foster innovation and safeguard intellectual property in the plant breeding sector.

Dümmen Orange is breeder in many different ornamental products and has obtained many EU breeders rights. The company has the goal to develop resilient plant varieties supporting the sustainability goals through amongst others Novel Breeding Techniques. Upon your request for evaluation the company would like the following points to get further attention and improvement.

Euroseeds welcomes the EU Commission initiative on the evaluation of the EU legislation on plant variety rights and, in particular of Regulation EC No 2100/94 on Community Plant Variety Rights (CPVR). Euroseeds strongly supports this initiative as crucial to ensure that the EU legal framework continues to foster innovation and protect intellectual property in the plant breeding sector.

ANOVE (Asociación Nacional de Obtentores Vegetales, www.anove.es) is the national association representing the interests of the entire Spanish plant breeding sector. The entire plant breeding sector represented by ANOVE highly values the current European legislation on plant variety protection.

Currently, plant varieties protected by PBR in the EU are protected for either 25 years or 30 years. It would make sense that all varieties will be able to be protected by 30 years. PBR costs are high and fees have been going up quite rapidly in recent years. My company represents plant breeders worldwide.

FNAMS (Federation Nationale des Farmers Multiplicators de Semences) is a professional agricultural organisation specialising in seed multiplication created in 1956. Its mission is to develop agronomic and economic references to seed crops for industrial beet, cereals and protein crops, fodder and vegetable crops, to promote the production of French seeds and to defend the interests of seed multipliers.

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Bayerische Pflanzenzuchtgesellschaft eG & Co KG (BPZ) is an association of nine Bavarian plant breeders. The BPZ is a medium-sized plant breeding company in Bavaria and markets varieties of winter wheat, winter barley, oats, summer barley, grasses, lucerne, maize, field beans, soya beans and potatoes. The BPZ welcomes the Commission’s initiative to evaluate and review the rules on Community plant variety rights.

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Dear Sir, Madam, CIOPORA represents the interests of companies involved in the breeding of asexually reproduced horticultural varieties, IP-management companies, and IP-specialists. We are included in the Transparency Register of the EU, No. 834378913628-15.

1.Redefine the concept or harvested material and directly differentiate between harvested fruit and harvested plants (constituents susceptible to further propagation). 2.To forbid the unauthorize use of the varieties during the provisional protection or, subsidiary, to allow breeders to apply for the retroactive payment of the totality of royalties and/or the uproot of the plants once the final protection is…

Improve protection of harvested material and the breeders' rights over the same after Nadorcott ruling. Grant full rights to the breeding during the provisional protection, at least, with retroactive effects after granting the title. The use of the material fruit varieties needs to be also protected under the scope of the right. Compulsory use of the name of the variety for fruit commercialization.

Kultursaat e.V. opposes any intellectual property. Varieties are cultural treasures, as our crops have largely grown collectively over many generations and centuries, and the progress of breeding in genetic proportions is rather low. Privatisation of cultural heritage must not be a cultural crop.

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PVDO CLG is very happy to see this review take place - it will mean the EU will protect and promote developments in plant breeding through their support of PBR. It is obvious on a practical ground level that strong enforceable PBR legislation deters the infringement of PBR and so protects the investment of those developing new traits and varieties in the sector.

The patentability of food-related technologies and products is a sensitive issue, and some stakeholders therefore consider a different legal treatment of such patents or the patentability of such products to be appropriate.

SEMAE is the French recognised interbranch organisation for seed according to regulation 1308/2013. France is the leading EU producer and global exporter of agricultural seeds. France has 67 cooperatives, family-owned or large companies active in breeding.

Effective protection and practical enforcement possibilities of intellectual property (IP) rights as a precondition for the continuous innovation in plant breeding (fair return on research and development investments and access to all forms of plant material). Breeders exemption within this system as a key cornerstone ensuring that all protected varieties can be freely used for further research and breeding.

The Association of Bavarian Plant Breeders (VBP) has been pooling the interests of plant breeders in Bavaria for more than 100 years. Currently, 19 breeders and distribution organisations of cereals, potatoes, fodder crops (grasses, clover/lucerne), maize, soya beans and catch crops are organised in the PAP. These enterprises are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises.

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The Federal Association of German Plant Breeders (BDP) has for more than 75 years pooled the interests of its 130 members, which are agricultural and horticultural breeding and trading companies in Germany. The sector, which is mainly small and medium-sized, is very innovative, with around sixty breeding companies operating their own breeding programmes and a 16 % R & D (R & D) quota.

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The Plant Node, a project under the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, has developed a memo on "Plant variety rights and patents on plants - their application on NGT plants and plant varieties in the EU".

Hello, our association defends the rights of peasants, but also of (small) seed producers. The work of the seed must be paid, but this must not be at the expense of the farmer’s remuneration. I consider that the exemption under Article 14 of Regulation 94/2100 (like Article 11 of Directive 1998/44).

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