Before you can be granted a plant variety right, your variety must meet five requirements. First of all, the variety must be new (have been in commercial use for not more than one year). Secondly, the variety must be distinctive, in other words different from previous varieties. Thirdly, the variety must be uniform. This means that plants of your variety cannot differ too widely from other plants of that variety. Fourthly, your variety must be stable: the plant’s specific properties must be preserved in subsequent generations. Finally you, as breeder, propose a name for approval by the authority granting the plant variety right.
Must a separate plant variety right be applied for in each country?
Some countries are members of systems for the protection of regional plant variety rights, such as the Community plant variety right (27 EU Member States) granted by the CPVO and OAPI (17 French-speaking African countries). For this purpose, a single application is sufficient to obtain a plant variety right valid in all member countries. For other countries, a plant variety right must be applied for in every country. However, some countries do accept the DUS-reports of other UPOV members, such as the EU. This means a plant variety right investigation does not have to be carried out again.
