2011 CIOPORA Chronicle - the 50th Anniversary Edition

March 2011 • www.ciopora.org 

The business magazine for horticultural plant breeding 

50 years 

protecting Intellectual 

Property Rights for breeders! 

CIOPORA gives 

page18 UPOV valuable input 

Plant Breeder’s Right: 

page 26 Quo Vadis?

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Table of Contents 

08 

CIOPORA: A Celebration 

11 

CIOPORA plays vital 

role in supporting the 

industry’ 

12 

CPVO and CIOPORA 

continue to strengthen 

their cooperation 

14 

PVR litigation 

on the rise 

18 

CIOPORA gives UPOV 

valuable input 

20 

Barbarians at the 

gates – and many 

already passed! 

24 

Working Group 

focuses on D.U.S. 

examination 

25 

Focus on molecular 

techniques for PVR 

26 

Plant Breeders´ Right 

Quo vadis? 

29 

CIOPORA- ISF: 

partnership to benefit 

breeders worldwide 

30 

CIOPORA’s AGM 

provides great forum 

for international 

networking 

04 www.CIOPORA.org | CIOPORA Chronicle April 2011

April 2011 CIOPORA Chronicle 

33 

MEILLAND - IP 

oriented since ‘ 

3 35 40’ 

34 

IP – a common 

interest in the past, 

present and future 

35 

Cooperation between 

CIOPORA and AIPH 

is crucial 

36 

RAI: the ultimate tool 

for managing your 

plant breeders’rights 

41 

Fides thinks global 

and acts local 

42 

Danziger ‘Dan’ 

Flower Farm: always 

one step ahead 

43 

Birthday greetings 

from CIOPORA 

Deutschland and 

Union Fleurs 

44 

Selecta highly 

praises CIOPORA’s 

commitment and work 

46 

China deploys national 

strategy for IPR 

47 

S.B. Talee - CIOPORA: 

a blooming bond 

48 

CIOPORA helps IP 

owners protect their 

rose varieties 

49 

PBR: invaluable 

assets for plant 

breeding 

CIOPORA Chronicle April 2011 | www.CIOPORA.org 05

CIOPORA Members 

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Become a member of CIOPORA 

CIOPORA is an international, non-governmental organisation, 

representing the interests of breeders of asexually reproduced 

ornamental and fruit varieties worldwide. The organization 

has currently 123 members among which individual breeders, 

breeding companies, lawyers and royalty administration services. 

Top priority of CIOPORA is the constant development 

of systems of protection which both, international state 

organisations and single states, have provided for the protection 

of the intellectual property concerning ornamental and fruit 

plants. CIOPORA acts as a strong voice to governments on 

behalf of the industry. 

The Board invites you to join CIOPORA. Membership is open 

to anyone breeding vegetatively reproduced ornamental and 

fruit varieties or having an interest in IP-Protection for such 

crops. However, each candidacy is subject to the CIOPORA 

Board's approval. 

To become a member email to info@ciopora.org or fax 

to +49 40 555 63 703 


About CIOPORA 

CIOPORA is the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit 

Plants. The association has been established in 1961 – so it is nearly as old as the idea of protection of 

plant varieties – and is highly specialized in the Intellectual Property (IP) protection of ornamental and 

fruit varieties by Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR), Plant Patents, Patents and Trademarks. Today it represents 

more than 120 direct members worldwide. 

Membership 

For breeders, effective IP protection and its enforcement are indispensable. 

Core activity of CIOPORA, therefore, is seeking to 

establish effective IP protection systems for asexually reproduced 

ornamental and fruit varieties all over the world. 

With this purpose in view, CIOPORA intervenes with governments, 

international organizations, associations and authorities that are dealing 

with breeders´ rights. In UPOV, since the beginning, CIOPORA is 

one of the very few non-governmental observer organizations, receiving 

specific non-public information about developments within UPOV and 

participating in all UPOV bodies and committees. Especially with a 

view to Plant Variety Rights (PVR) the voice of CIOPORA is not only 

very strong because of its expertise, but also because ornamental and 

fruit varieties form the vast majority of protected PVR titles. 

Besides this CIOPORA renders several services to its members: inter 

alia CIOPORA informs its members on a regular basis about new 

developments in the IP world, advises on Anti-Infringement work and 

trains its members on general questions of IP protection in the breeding 

industry. Additionally, the Annual General Meetings of CIOPORA and 

the several meetings of its working groups and crops sections all around 

the year provide the members with an excellent networking platform. 

Organisation 

The main governing body of CIOPORA is its Annual General Meeting 

of all members, which decides about the composition of the Board, gives 

direction for the priorities of the work and decides about the positions 

of CIOPORA. Special subjects of interest are dealt with in crop sections 

and working groups or receive special attention in the work of the administrative 

office. CIOPORA also has an excellent network of lawyers 

specialised in IP and even more specific in Plant Variety Protection. 

AGM 

Annual General Meeting 

CIOPORA Board 

Administrative Office Working Groups Crop Sections 

Day-to-day business 

• Contributing to UPOV 

matters 

• Advising governments on 

PBR - and other IP -laws 

• Advising members on IP 

matters 

Special Topics: 

• Anti-Infringement 

• Biodiversity 

Molecular Techniques 

DUS 

CIOPORA IRBA 

Cut Rose Section 

Carnation Section 

Fruit Section 

Pot 

Plant Section 

Lawyers Panel 

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www.floracultureinternational.com 

per_85x124.indd 1 05-05-2009 09:05:5 

FloraCulture congratulates 

CIOPORA with their 

50th anniversary 

www.floracultureinternational.com

Welcome 

Intellectual Property 

(IP) Protection for 

plant innovations, 

is one of the most 

important matters 

for horticultural 

breeders and the 

entire horticultural 

industry with a key 

role for CIOPORA. 

We hope you’ll 

enjoy reading the 

reflections on the 

past, present and 

future of CIOPORA 

and the efforts on 

protecting plant 

innovations. And 

we look forward 

to our gathering in 

Rome to celebrate 

together our 50th 

anniversary. 

by Lars Henriksen, 

President of CIOPORA 

CIOPORA: 

A Celebration 

Today, more than in the 

past propagators, growers, 

traders and breeders are all 

depending on well functioning IP 

systems to meet the challenges in 

today’s world. IP protection will 

become even more important in the 

future to justify that breeders need 

to develop entirely new and more 

sophisticated methods for breeding 

and biotechnology. 

Improvement of 

IP protection 

CIOPORA, the international 

organisation defending the Intellectual 

Property of breeders of 

vegetatively reproduced ornamental 

and fruit varieties, has for the past 

50 years continuously worked for 

the improvement of IP protection 

for plant innovations. 

It all started in 1961: A group of 

breeders, mainly of roses, were 

deeply convinced that it needed 

joint efforts to advocate with the 

respective law- and policy makers 

on good protection for plant innovations. 

Therefore they founded 

CIOPORA, before even the first 

UPOV Convention was adopted. 

UPOV 

In fact, it was members of 

CIOPORA advocating for such 

an international Convention. 

But the 1961 UPOV Convention 

was only the beginning. Over the 

coming years, the Convention 

as such needed to be improved; 

CIOPORA offered interpretation 

of the legal texts and concentrated 

on promoting a good understanding 

on the need of IP protection 

for plant innovations all over the 

world. To mention only a few topics 

CIOPORA is addressing: Essentially 

Derived Varieties, DUS-testing, 

biotechnology, patent protection 

and efficient enforcement of rights. 

In the fifty years since its foundation 

CIOPORA has evolved into 

a full service organisation offering 

expertise in a wide array of crops. 

CIOPORA has also gained an international 

reputation in the area of 

IP protection for innovative plants. 

Today the organisation has members 

from 26 different countries 

from all over the world. 

Illustrious Board 

Presidents 

Over the past fifty years CIOPORA has been 

governed by a Board of illustrious industry professionals. 

The first president of CIOPORA, from 

1961 until 1964 was Wilhelm II. Kordes, a German 

rose breeder. Since then, the Kordes family has 

been deeply devoted to CIOPORA; also the son 

of Wilhelm Kordes II., Reimer Kordes chaired 

CIOPORA as a president from 1969 to 1981. 

Other past presidents of CIOPORA are Sam 

McGredy from New Zealand (president from 

1964 to 1969), Patrick Dickson from the United 

Kingdom (president from 1981 to 1983), Jack 

van Andel from the Netherlands (president from 

1983 to 1987), Peter Ilsink from the Netherlands 

(president from 1987 to 1996), Omer Schneider 

Wilhelm Kordes II Reimer Kordes 

Patrick Dickson Jack van Andel Peter Ilsink Omer Schneider 


Close relationships 

It is vital for CIOPORA to maintain 

close relationships UPOV 

and PVR offices worldwide. We 

would like to thank them for all 

the fruitful discussions we have had 

and look forward to strengthening 

this collaboration in the future. On 

this occasion we would also like 

to express our gratitude to both 

CPVO and UPOV for contribution 

Lars Henriksen, President of CIOPORA. 

to this magazine. 

CIOPORA is also well connected 

within the industry and is working 

on reaching better intellectual property 

protection in good cooperation 

with befriended associations, which 

can also be seen in the articles in 

this edition by FLEUROSELECT, 

AIPH, Union Fleurs, EUCARPIA, 

ESA and ISF. We look forward to 

joint efforts in the future and thank 

our friends for the cooperation in 

the past as well as their contribution 

to this edition! 

We also would like to thank all 

our members for their loyalty, 

input they have given and insights 

they have share for the work of 

CIOPORA, and especially those 

companies which have financially 

supported this issue financially by 

placing advertisements. We are also 

grateful for the support of FloraCulture 

International in realising this 

second CIOPORA Special with 

this year a special focus on our 50th 

anniversary. 

We hope you’ll enjoy reading the 

reflections on the past, present 

and future of CIOPORA and 

the efforts on protecting plant innovations. 

And we look forward to 

pause for a moment in Rome and 

celebrate together the 50th anniversary 

of CIOPIORA! ||| 

Secretaries General 

from the USA (president from 1996 to 1999) and 

Maarten Leune from the Netherlands (president 

from 1999 to 2005). 

As of 2005 Lars Henriksen from Denmark is 

CIOPORA’s current president. 

From the beginning on, the CIOPORA 

board was highly supported in its work 

by René Royon, who was Secretary General 

of the association for an impressive 

period of 43 years, from 1961 to 2004. 

The development of a Plant Variety 

Rights system as well as the understanding 

of the UPOV Convention – also its 

limitations – is closely connected with 

the name of René Royon; in 2005 he 

became honorary member of CIOPORA to 

tribute his immense accomplishments. 

René Royon was followed by Dr. Edgar 

Krieger, a highly experienced IP-Lawyer, 

as Secretary General in 2004 and with 

this change also the administrative 

office of CIOPORA moved to the north, to 

Hamburg, Germany. 

René Royon 

Maarten Leune Lars Henriksen Dr. Edgar Krieger 


Experience 

a new 

dimension 

Congratulation on 

the 50 th anniversary 

of CIOPORA 

www.selectaworld.com/fp 

Searching the globe for 

brilliant plants 

W 

e search the world looking for brilliant and colourful 

environmentally friendly plants. We then work with 

our Licensed Growers to make them readily available 

into the global markets. 

Once we have selected a plant, they are then extensively tested 

to prove their performance. We have trials sites located in all 

our key markets around the world and it is only after a potential 

Tesselaar plant has been through these trials, that it is considered 

for commercial introduction. 

A network of growers – people who share our values of 

professionalism and quality – then grow-on the plant ready to 

be delivered to their local markets. Innovative promotion and 

marketing support plays a fundamental role in bringing these new 

and distinctively different plants onto the market place. 

Underpinning all this is a personal philosophy, based on strong 

ethical practices and professionalism. It’s a straightforward 

approach driven by a simple aim - finding exceptional plants that 

are colourful, best in class and so easy to grow, and then bringing 

them to market. 

Contact us at: www.tesselaar.com 

See us at: OFA - Ohio 

Plantarium - Holland 

Essen - Germany

Fleuroselect 

Nils Klemm, 

President of 

Fleuroselect offers 

his congratulations 

on the 50th 

anniversary of 

CIOPORA. He 

praises the 

organisation’s 

commitment and 

hard work whilst 

highlighting 

CIOPORA’s 

prominent role 

in promoting the 

floral industry as a 

whole. 

Nils Klemm, 

President of Fleuroselect. 

‘CIOPORA plays vital role 

in supporting the industry’ 

“It is a pleasure for Fleuroselect 

to send greetings 

celebrating CIOPORA’s 50 

year anniversary. Of similar age, 

both organisations have quite a lot 

in common. Nevertheless, both 

organisations use different ways 

to help their members create an 

economical sound base in order 

to develop and market new and 

wonderful varieties.” 

Strong reputation 

Whereas Fleuroselect has been 

focusing on promoting new 

varieties, it is CIOPORA who has 

played a vital role supporting the 

industry in intellectual property 

matters. “Keeping continuously 

abreast with the latest developments 

concerning international IP legislation, 

CIOPORA has managed to 

build a reputation which is highly 

recognised by the relevant public 

institutions and its representatives”, 

says Klemm. 

Active promoter 

Additionally, CIOPORA has been 

a tireless, active promoter creating 

awareness within the industry 

without which, respect for the work 

of breeder’s creativity and innovation 

are bound to fail. “And where 

would this industry be – as so many 

– without innovative products?”, 

wonders Klemm. 

He adds, “Growers and gardeners 

would be missing many magnificent 

introductions we have seen 

over the last decades: new colors, 

exciting new plant habits and – last 

but not least - the creation of new 

species through innovative breeding 

methods. All this has helped growers 

to make a living. It has kept and 

created thousands and thousands of 

consumers interested in flowers and 

gardening, enjoying to garden or 

just coloring their homes.” 

Klemm concludes, “The work 

behind this is cumbersome; the 

work of breeders as well as the work 

to lobby for breeders rights. Today 

is a day to thank and congratulate 

those people who have, over the 

last five decades, contributed so 

much to help create what all of us 

are benefiting from – we salute our 

colleagues with pleasure and high 

respect. All the best for the coming 

fifty years from Fleuroselect!” ||| 

FleuroStar: a new award 

for innovative ornamentals 

Nils Klemm of Selecta Klemm, Germany is 

President of Fleuroselect since 2010. One of his 

ambitions for his term in office has been to 

create a new award for innovative ornamentals: 

the FleuroStar. Judged at the point of 

sale, winners should offer the unexpected: a 

variety with the ‘wow’ factor. 

The first 2009 competition produced a true allround 

champion Dianthus x barbatus ‘Diabunda 

Purple Picotee’ from Syngenta Flowers. While a compelling purple and 

white colour combination attracts the consumer, almost day-length 

neutrality pleases the grower. 

Petunia x hybrida ‘Phantom’ from Ball FloraPlant the current 2010 winner 

is a stunning example of innovative breeding. A yellow star pattern 

on black Petunia makes this high performance item a trendy specialty. 

This upcoming season’s competition, held during the 2011 

FlowerTrials® will select a winner from seven diverse innovations. 

Breeders Selecta Klemm, Dümmen, ABZ Seeds and Syngenta Flowers 

have entered a Calceolaria 

cultivar, a Fragaria x ananassa 

Duch, a Cyclamen persicum, 

an Osteospermum ecklonis, a 

Pelargonium zonale x peltatum 

and two Verbena x hybridas. 

The FleuroStar Award has been 

developed to complement the 

Fleuroselect Gold Medal given 

for excellence in breeding and 

garden performance, which 

FleuroStar 2010 winner 

Petunia ‘Phantom’. 

has just celebrated its own 40th 

anniversary. 


CPVO 

Bart Kiewiet, 

president of the 

Community Plant 

Variety Office 

(CPVO) in Angers, 

congratulates 

CIOPORA on its 

golden jubilee whilst 

reflecting on past 

successes and future 

goals. Established 

in 1995 the CPVO 

grants Community 

plant variety rights 

to any individual 

or company 

which either has a 

permanent residence 

in the EU or has a 

nominated EU agent 

and is itself from a 

UPOV (International 

Union for the 

Protection of new 

Varieties of Plants) 

member state. 

CPVO and CIOPORA 

continue to strengthen 

their cooperation 

me begin with congratulating 

CIOPORA 

“Let 

International on its 50th 

anniversary. It is not by accident 

that this organisation is almost the 

same age as UPOV. In fact, the 

creation of UPOV was, as I have 

understood, the very reason for the 

foundation of CIOPORA. 

In light of this, it is not surprising 

that CIOPORA has focused its 

activities on intellectual property 

rights in general and plant 

variety protection UPOV type in 

particular. 

I have had professional contacts 

with CIOPORA International and 

its former Dutch branch from the 

beginning of the nineties, first as 

president of the Dutch board for 

plant breeders’ rights and from 

1996, in my capacity as president 

of the Community Plant Variety 

Office (CPVO).” 

Remarkable 

representatives 

During the first years of Bart 

Kiewiet’s dealings with CIOPO- 

RA, it was René Royon who was 

the most visible and remarkable 

representative. “I still vividly 

remember how René, during the 

Diplomatic Conference for the revision 

of the UPOV convention of 

1991, tried with all his intellectual 

force to convince the participants 

to enhance the right of the breeder 

as laid down in the Basic Proposal 

for the revision of that convention. 

In the end, he was not fully satisfied 

with the result but nevertheless 

considered the 1991 version as an 

important improvement, compared 

to the previous version of the 

UPOV Convention. 

Bart Kiewiet, president 

of the Community Plant 

Variety Office. 

In the years after the retirement 

of René Royon, the new secretary 

general Edgar Krieger and the successive 

presidents Maarten Leune 

and Lars Henriksen were my main 

contacts within this organisation.” 

Beneficial cooperation 

According to Bart Kiewiet the 

cooperation between CIOPORA 

and the CPVO has been beneficial 


Good relationship: Bilateral meeting between CIOPORA and CPVO in January 2011. 

for both sides. “CIOPORA has 

been able to effectively influence 

CPVO policy, especially regarding 

its financial management. It has 

also contributed to activities of the 

CPVO, aimed at increasing the 

general awareness of plant variety 

protection and specifically the enforcement 

aspects; activities which I 

consider an important complementary 

task of the CPVO. 

CIOPORA has remained critical in 

respect of some of the substantive 

elements of the legislation governing 

the Community plant variety 

protection system. Although I do 

not share all criticism, I agree that 

there is room for improvement. 

The possibilities to modify this 

legislation are limited, since it is for 

a large part the translation of the 

pertinent provisions of the UPOV 

convention. The CPVO will form 

a working party of legal experts 

in order to analyse areas in which 

modifications of the said legislation 

are opportune and possible. 

In October 2010, the Administrative 

Council of the CPVO granted 

the observer status to CIOPORA 

International. From now on, 

representatives of CIOPORA can 

attend and contribute to the non 

confidential part of the meetings of 

this important policy body of the 

CPVO. I am confident that this 

observership will further enhance 

the cooperation between the two 

organisations.” ||| 

CPVO seminar on enforcement of plant variety rights 

Breeders are facing difficulties when 

enforcing their Community and National 

plant variety rights. An important reason 

for this phenomenon is the insufficient 

knowledge of the applicable legislation 

amongst the parties concerned. 

For this reason, the Community Plant Variety 

Office organised seminars on the plant 

variety rights legislation, especially as 

concerns enforcement issues, in Brussels 

(2005), Warsaw (2006), Madrid (2007), Sofia 

and Bucharest (2008) and Athens (2010). 

These seminars were very much appreciated 

by the participants; reason for the CPVO 

to continue with this activity. 

CPVO will, in close cooperation with the 

breeders organisations CIOPORA and 

ESA and the Bundessortenamt, organise a 

similar seminar in Hamburg, Germany, on 25 

May 2011. 

This seminar aims at sharing information 

and experience on the enforcement of plant 

variety rights in Germany and neighboring countries, in particular 

the Scandinavian and Baltic States. 

Around 150 participants are expected to attend, intellectual property 

practitioners specialized in plant variety protection, but also breeders, 

farmers, trade companies, lawyers, judges and government 

representatives. They will share information and experience relating 

to the enforcement of plant variety rights in order to raise the awareness 

of the applicable legislation. 


Jurisdictions 

There is a significant 

rise in the number 

of plant variety 

rights cases in the 

horticultural sector 

throughout Europe. 

This article gives 

a comprehensive 

overview of court 

decisions from the 

most prominent 

jurisdictions. 

by Philippe de Jong and 

Thomas Leidereiter* 

PVR litigation 

on the rise 

When compared to trademark 

or patent cases, 

the number of court 

decisions dealing with plant variety 

rights (PVR) is still limited. One 

reason for this is that most breeders 

in the horticultural and fruit industry 

run small to medium-sized businesses 

and rather use their financial 

means to promote R&D activities 

than to engage in legal proceedings. 

Also, breeders generally tend to 

have mixed feelings about engaging 

in legal battles against competitors 

or growers. Challenging the 

validity of a competing variety, for 

example, may seriously affect existing 

business relationships with that 

competitor. 

Similarly, suing a grower for 

infringement often feels like cutting 

into your own hand, as every grower 

is a potential customer. Over the 

past years, however, PVR owners 

have become increasingly aware of 

the major importance of enforcing 

their rights and have realised that 

this is not necessarily to their detriment. 

The result is a significant rise 

in the number of court decisions in 

the horticultural sector throughout 

Europe. This contribution does not 

envisage discussing all relevant 

cases, as there would not be enough 

room for that. Instead, the authors 

highlight a number of decisions 

from the most prominent jurisdictions 

which they feel to be relevant. 

CJEU 

Recently, the Court of Justice of 

the European Union (CJEU) issued 

its first and so far only ruling on 

PVR in the ornamental sector. 

In SUMCOL 01 1 the CJEU has 

set out decisive standards for the 

judicial review of decisions issued 

by the Community Plant Variety 

Office (CPVO) and its Board of 

Appeal (BoA). 

In this case, the plaintiff had applied 

for Community Plant Variety Right 

(CPVR) protection for his variety 

SUMCOL 01 (Plectranthus ornatus). 

The variety, however, could not 

be clearly distinguished from plants 

originating from a private South 

African garden, which were held to 

be of common knowledge. 

Consequently, the application was 

rejected as was the appeal before 

the BoA. The case went up to the 

General Court of the European 

Union (GCEU), which held 2 that, 

due to the botanical complexity 

of the distinctness requirement, 

the GCEU is entitled to limit 

itself to a review of manifest errors 

of assessment by the BoA. The 

GCEU, furthermore, held that the 

publication of a detailed description 

of a plant variety may be taken into 

account when establishing common 

knowledge. The CJEU confirmed 

this ruling. 

As a result of this decision, breeders 

need to be aware that decisions 

of the CPVO and its BoA, when 

dealing with botanical questions, 

such as distinctness, uniformity 

or stability, will only be subject to 

legal review to a very limited extent. 

However, it must be questioned 

whether such limitation is in 

line with the requirements of the 

TRIPS agreement, which requires 

that parties to a proceeding shall 

have an opportunity for review by a 

judicial authority of final administrative 

decisions. 

GCEU 

One further decision has been 

rendered by the General Court 

of the European Union (GCEU) 

regarding a fruit variety. The Gala 

Schnitzler case 3 dealt with an apple 

(Malus Mill) variety. Upon the 

filing of the application, the CPVO 

requested the applicant to submit 

plant material necessary for the 

technical examination and stated 

that the applicant was “responsible 

for complying with phytosanitary 

requirements”. 

However, the phytosanitary certificate 

was missing and the plant 

material proved to be virus infected. 

The CPVO concluded that its 

instructions had not been entirely 

clear and allowed the applicant to 

re-sent virus-free material. After the 

DUS-test, the holder of the closest 

reference variety ‘Baigent’ lodged 

an objection against the candidate 

variety. He claimed that the office 

was not authorised to allow further 

material to be submitted and 

should have rejected the application. 

While the BoA confirmed the 

objector’s point of view, the GCEU 

held that it is consistent with the 

principle of sound administration 

for the CPVO to correct defaults in 

its instructions. 

Thomas Leidereiter. 


Belgium 

The Belgian courts have recently 

issued a number of interesting decisions 

concerning PVR. The most 

prominent, albeit intermediate, ruling 

is probably the supreme court’s 

recent decision to refer questions 

about the exhaustion of CPVRs to 

the CJEU 4 . 

The court essentially wants to know 

whether a PVR holder can accuse 

any third party of PVR infringement, 

when that party is effecting 

reserved acts in respect of plant material 

obtained from a licensee who 

has violated the terms of his licence 

agreement. In the specific case, the 

licensee had not made the third 

party sign an agreement allowing 

it to grow and sell apple trees of 

the licensed Nicoter variety, as was 

required by the licence agreement. 

Since the third party claimed not 

to have been aware of this limitation 

in the licence agreement, the 

supreme court has also asked the 

CJEU whether, for the assessment 

of the infringement, it is relevant 

that the accused third party is 

aware or deemed to be aware of the 

limitations imposed in the licensing 

contract. 

Another interesting Belgian 

decision was the judgment by the 

Ghent court of appeal concerning 

Meilland International’s Meiptipier 

rose variety 5 . A Belgian rose grower 

had illegitimately reproduced a 

number of roses which he had 

received from a representative of 

the PVR holder and was sued for 

infringement. 

The court dealt with a number of 

hot topics. The court first confirmed 

that infringement cases do 

not necessarily have to be brought 

before the court of Angers, where 

the CPVO is located, as the court 

had initially suggested. 

Infringement actions can be 

brought where the defendant is 

domiciled or where the damage 

occurred. The court’s decision 

to subsequently qualify the roses 

obtained from the unlawful 

reproduction as harvested material, 

is questionable since the roses are 

primarily propagating material. In 

case of doubt, preference should 

always be given to a qualification as 

propagating material as the protection 

afforded to that material is 

less stringent than that afforded to 

harvested material 6 . 

Finally, and most interestingly, the 

court awarded double compensation 

to Meilland. The court not 

only took into account that the 

plants had been reproduced without 

consent, but also that, as a result of 

this reproduction, the grower had 

been able to commercialise the roses 

resulting from this reproduction for 

five years, i.e. almost throughout 

the entire commercial life span of 

the plant. 

Merely equating the compensation 

to the licence fee the grower would 

have had to pay if he had obtained 

Meilland’s consent, would have 

been unequitable, the court found. 

Germany 

In the landmark decision Melanie 7 , 

the German Federal Supreme 

Court (‘BGH’) held that whole 

pot plants cannot be classified as 

harvested material, but fall within 

the definition of “variety constituents” 

of the European regulation. 

The BGH also held that the sale of 

plants of a variety protected by German 

PVR, which were illegally produced 

in France, can be interdicted 

by a German court. Finally, the 

court clarified that any company 

dealing with material potentially 

protected by PVR has a duty to 

ensure that the products sold do not 

infringe third party rights. 

In the Barbara decision 8 the BGH 

allowed a DNA analysis as means 

of presumptive evidence with 

regard to the question of entitlement 

to PVR. Furthermore, the 

court held that a variety may be of 

common knowledge even though 

the breeder has decided to destroy 

all material of that variety. 

The Lemon Symphony judgment 9 

of the BGH clarified that the scope 

of protection of a CPVR does not 

only cover identical infringements 

but also an “area of tolerance”, 

which comprises of natural variations 

of the variety. 

In a judgment 10 of the Higher 

Regional Court of Dusseldorf 

(‘OLG Dusseldorf’) on (alleged) 

EDVs of Calibrachoa varieties, the 

court held that the judge deciding 

on an infringement claim, is strictly 

bound by the combination of characteristics 

laid down in the variety 

description and may not consider 

either one of them to be essential or 

less important. 

Philippe de Jong. >>> 


Die Unternehmer-Anwälte 

We make your 

rights bloom. 

IP Protection for Plant Innovations 

Contact 

Thomas Leidereiter 

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH 

Gaensemarkt 45, 20354 Hamburg 

Telephone +49 40 18067 0 

thomas.leidereiter@luther-lawfirm.com 

www.luther-lawfirm.com 

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CONTACT 

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1000 Brussels - BELGIUM 

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email: tantau@rosen-tantau.com 

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member of

Jurisdictions 

Furthermore, the court decided 

that a high degree of phenotypic 

similarity does not indicate the 

presence of an EDV, but that the 

presence of an EDV may only be 

assessed on the basis of a DNA and 

a phenotypic comparison. 

However, in a very recent decision 11 , 

the Regional Court of Mannheim 

has based a decision on the presence 

of an EDV of a winter wheat 

(Triticum aestivum L.) variety 

(CPVR) to some extent on the fact 

that a high degree of phenotypic 

similarity between the varieties was 

observed. 

The Netherlands 

In The Netherlands, the first ever 

case on essentially derived varieties 

under the Community PVR Regulation 

was settled by a judgment 

from the court of appeal of The 

Hague of 29 December 2009 12 . 

The facts of this case are now wellknown 

to most of the PVR-loving 

world. The question was whether 

Astée’s ‘Blancanieves’ and ‘Summer 

Snow’ Gypsophila varieties were 

essentially derived from Danziger’s 

Dangypmini variety, also known as 

‘Million Stars’. To substantiate its 

claim, Danziger submitted a AFLP 

fingerprinting report which found 

that there was a high correlation between 

the varieties involved (more 

than 0.9 on the Jaccard scale) and 

that the existing genotypical differences 

were too minute to have been 

obtained through cross-breeding 

and selection. 

The court rejected the infringement 

claim against ‘Summer Snow’ for 

due to lack of evidence. Regarding 

‘Blancanieves’, it appeared that 

there were 17 morphological differences 

with ‘Million Stars’. According 

to the court, this finding led to 

the conclusion that ‘Blancanieves’ 

could not be essentially derived 

from ‘Million Stars’. 

In addition to the requirements 

that a variety can only be essentially 

derived from another variety if it 

is (i) predominantly derived from 

the initial variety and (ii) is distinct 

from that variety, there is the 

requirement that (iii) the derived 

variety has to essentially conform to 

the initial variety in terms of the expression 

of characteristics resulting 

from the genotype or combination 

of genotypes of the initial variety. 

With 17 morphological differences, 

the two varieties could not be 

considered phenotypically similar 

to such a high degree that the one 

variety differs from the other variety 

only in one or a few inheritable 

characteristics, as required by the 

UPOV Travaux Préparatoires. 

In another interesting decision 

concerning the Sperien and 

Spekren rose varieties, the district 

court of The Hague held that bad 

faith is not required to claim damages 

under the Community PVR 

Regulation. More specifically, it 

was held that damages in the sum 

of a customary royalty of 30cent/ 

cutting amounted to a “reasonable 

compensation” under Article 94(1) 

of the Regulation 13 . ||| 

* Philippe de Jong works as a lawyer for Altius in Brussels (www.altius.eu). Thomas Leidereiter is a lawyer working for Luther in Hamburg 

(www.luther-lawfirm.com). 

1 CJEU, Judgment of 15 April 2010, case 

number C-38/09 P 

2 GCEU, Judgment of 19 November 

2008, case Number T-187/06 – 

Schräder v. CPVO. For a commentary 

on this decision (in Dutch), see P. de 

JONG, “Van Pretoria tot Meise: de algemene 

bekendheid van het referentieras”, 

I.R.D.I. 2008, p. 432. 

3 GCEU, Judgment of 13 September 

2010, case number T-135/08 – Schniga 

v. CPVO 

4 Cour de Cassation / Hof van Cassatie, 25 

February 2010, case nr. C.08.0474.N/1. 

The case is known at the CJEU under 

number C-140/10. See the similar discussion 

in Pres. The Hague district court, 

4 November 2005, I.E.R. 2006, p. 97, 

with comment T. OVERDIJK. 

5 Ghent court of appeal, 13 October 

2008, ICIP-Ing. Cons. 2008, p. 837, 

with comment from P. de JONG, “Dien 

inbreuk en die roze”. 

6 See also the decision from the German 

Federal Supreme Court in Melanie, 

discussed below. 

7 German Federal Supreme Court, Judgment 

of 14 February 2006, file number 

X ZR 93/04 – Melanie 


of 29 June 2004, file number X ZR 

203/01 - Barbara 


of 23 April 2009, file number Xa 

ZR 14/07 – Lemon Symphony 

10 Higher Regional Court of Dusseldorf, 

Judgment of 6 April 2006, file number 

I2 U 155/02 

11 Regional Court of Mannheim, Judgment 

of 10 December 2010, file number 7 O 

442/04 

12 The Hague court of appeal, 29 December 

2009, IER 2010, 361. 

13 The Hague district court, 9 January 2008, 

BIE 2008, 328; see also in the same sense: 

The Hague district court, 27 February 

2008, BIE 2008, 445 (Miss Lucy). 


UPOV 

The International 

Union for the 

Protection of 

New Varieties of 

Plants (UPOV) is an 

intergovernmental 

organization 

based in Geneva, 

Switzerland, whose 

mission is to provide 

and promote an 

effective system 

of plant variety 

protection, with the 

aim of encouraging 

the development 

of new varieties 

of plants, for the 

benefit of society. 


UPOV valuable input 

by Peter Button* 

UPOV was established in 

1961 by the International 

Convention for the Protection 

of New Varieties of Plants (the 

“UPOV Convention”). As of January 

1, 2011, UPOV had 68 members 

(see map, shown in green), 

with a further seventeen states and 

one organization having initiated 

the procedure for becoming UPOV 

members (see map, shown in 

brown). Table 1 gives a comprehensive 

overview of UPOV’s membership 

as of January 15, 2011. 

The UPOV Convention provides 

the basis for members to encourage 

plant breeding by granting 

breeders of new plant varieties an 

intellectual property right: the 

breeder’s right. The breeder’s right 

means that the authorization of the 

breeder is required to propagate the 

variety for commercial purposes. 

Under the UPOV Convention, the 

breeder’s right is only granted where 

the variety is (i) new, (ii) distinct, 

(iii) uniform, (iv) stable and has a 

suitable denomination. 

CIOPORA as key 

participant 

The International Community of 

Breeders of Asexually Reproduced 

Ornamental Varieties (CIOPORA), 

which later became the International 

Community of Breeders 

of Asexually Reproduced Fruit 

Tree and Ornamental Varieties 

(CIOPORA) was actively involved 

in the Diplomatic Conference that 

led to the adoption of the UPOV 

Convention on December 2, 1961, 

and the subsequent Diplomatic 

Conferences for the revision of the 

substantive provisions of the UPOV 

Convention in 1978 and 1991. 

CIOPORA was also a key participant 

in a series of UPOV meetings 

with International Organizations 

for the preparatory work of the 

1991 Diplomatic Conference. 

Input from breeders 

In order to ensure that UPOV 

meets its aim of “encouraging the 

development of new varieties of 

plants”, input from breeders is of 

particular importance. Since the 

1988 decision of the UPOV Council 

to invite certain non-governmental 

organisations, including CIOPO- 

RA, to parts of the Council sessions, 

CIOPORA has regularly attended 

the sessions of the UPOV Council 

and today has observer status in the 

Council, Administrative and Legal 

Committee, Technical Committee 

and Technical Working Parties and 


the Working Group on Biochemical 

and Molecular Techniques, and 

DNA-Profiling in Particular. 

A particularly important area of 

contribution by breeders, concerns 

the guidance that UPOV provides 

on the examination of varieties for 

distinctness, uniformity and stability 

(DUS). The basis for that guidance 

is document TG/1/3 “General 

Introduction to the Examination 

of Distinctness, Uniformity and 

Stability and the Development of 

Harmonized Descriptions of New 

Varieties of Plants”, which was 

developed by the Technical Committee 

with substantial input from 

the breeders’ organizations. 

Test Guidelines 

Beyond the General Introduction, 

a key task within UPOV is the 

development of “Guidelines for the 

Conduct of Tests for Distinctness, 

Uniformity and Stability”, or “Test 

Guidelines”, which act as the basis 

for harmonised DUS examination 

for individual species or other variety 

groupings. The Test Guidelines 

are the basis for an effective and 

harmonised approach to the examination 

of DUS, which facilitates 

cooperation between UPOV members 

and thereby provides a basis for 

minimising cost to breeders. >>> 

MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE 

PROTECTION OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS Status on March 15, 2011 

State/Organization 

Latest Act1 of the Convention to which State/Organization is party and 

date on which State/Organization became party to that Act 

Albania 1991 Act October 15, 2005 

Argentina 1978 Act December 25, 1994 

Australia 1991 Act January 20, 2000 

Austria 1991 Act July 1, 2004 

Azerbaijan 1991 Act December 9, 2004 

Belarus 1991 Act January 5, 2003 

Belgium 1961/1972 Act December 5, 1976 

Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 1978 Act May 21, 1999 

Brazil 1978 Act May 23, 1999 

Bulgaria 1991 Act April 24, 1998 

Canada 1978 Act March 4, 1991 

Chile 1978 Act January 5, 1996 

China 1978 Act3 April 23, 1999 

Colombia 1978 Act September 13, 1996 

Costa Rica 1991 Act January 12, 2009 

Croatia 1991 Act September 1, 2001 

Czech Republic 1991 Act November 24, 2002 

Denmark4 1991 Act April 24, 1998 

Dominican Republic 1991 Act June 16, 2007 

Ecuador 1978 Act August 8, 1997 

Estonia 1991 Act September 24, 2000 

European Union 1991 Act July 29, 2005 

Finland 1991 Act July 20, 2001 

France 1978 Act March 17, 1983 

Georgia 1991 Act November 29, 2008 

Germany 1991 Act July 25, 1998 

Hungary 1991 Act January 1, 2003 

Iceland 1991 Act May 3, 2006 

Ireland 1978 Act November 8, 1981 

Israel 1991 Act April 24, 1998 

Italy 1978 Act May 28, 1986 

Japan 1991 Act December 24, 1998 

Jordan 1991 Act October 24, 2004 

Kenya 1978 Act May 13, 1999 

Kyrgyzstan 1991 Act June 26, 2000 

Latvia 1991 Act August 30, 2002 

Lithuania 1991 Act December 10, 2003 

Mexico 1978 Act August 9, 1997 

Morocco 1991 Act October 8, 2006 

Netherlands 1991 Act6 April 24, 1998 

New Zealand 1978 Act November 8, 1981 

Nicaragua 1978 Act September 6, 2001 

Norway 1978 Act September 13, 1993 

Oman 1991 Act November 22, 2009 

Panama 1978 Act May 23, 1999 

Paraguay 1978 Act February 8, 1997 

Poland 1991 Act August 15, 2003 

Portugal 1978 Act October 14, 1995 

Republic of Korea 1991 Act January 7, 2002 

Republic of Moldova 1991 Act October 28, 1998 

Romania 1991 Act March 16, 2001 

Russian Federation 1991 Act April 24, 1998 

Singapore 1991 Act July 30, 2004 

Slovakia 1991 Act June 12, 2009 

Slovenia 1991 Act July 29, 1999 

South Africa 1978 Act November 8, 1981 

Spain 1991 Act July 18, 2007 

Sweden 1991 Act April 24, 1998 

Switzerland 1991 Act September 1, 2008 

Trinidad and Tobago 1978 Act January 30, 1998 

Tunisia 1991 Act August 31, 2003 

Turkey 1991 Act November 18, 2007 

Ukraine 1991Act January 19, 2007 

United Kingdom 1991 Act January 3, 1999 

United States of America 1991 Act7 February 22, 1999 

Uruguay 1978 Act November 13, 1994 

Uzbekistan 1991 Act November 14, 2004 

Viet Nam 1991 Act December 24, 2006 


UPOV 

At present, UPOV has adopted 

265 Test Guidelines, which are 

estimated to cover around 90% of 

applications for plant breeder’s right 

throughout UPOV members. 

CIOPORA’s participation in the 

Technical Working Party for Ornamental 

Plants and Forest Trees 

(TWO) and more recently in those 

of the Technical Working Party for 

Fruit Crops (TWF) is an important 

means of ensuring that the breeders’ 

expertise and perspective can be 

taken into account in the development 

of those Test Guidelines. 

Explanatory Notes 

An important requirement for 

protection is that a variety has a 

suitable denomination. CIOPORA 

UPOV offers CIOPORA congratulations 

This article illustrates the importance of input from breeders to the work of 

UPOV in providing an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of 

encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of society. 

It is, therefore, a particularly happy coincidence that both UPOV and CIOPORA will 

celebrate their fiftieth anniversaries in 2011. On this occasion, Peter Button, Vice 

Secretary-General UPOV offers his congratulations. “It is my pleasure to offer my 

congratulations to CIOPORA on this important anniversary and to look forward to 

future cooperation between UPOV and CIOPORA.” 

made a number of valuable contributions 

to the development of the 

document “Explanatory Notes 

on Variety Denominations under 

the UPOV Convention” which 

provides guidance of practical 

UPOV welcomes CIOPORA’s support 

In addition to contributing to the work of UPOV bodies, UPOV welcomes the support of CIOPORA in 

activities where the expertise and experience of breeders can provide an important element to assist 

in the understanding of the UPOV Convention. A recent example of this was at UPOV’s first ever Open 

Day, which was held in Geneva on June 5, 2010, where CIOPORA was represented by Mrs. Dominique 

Thevenon (pictured), AIGN®, and Mr. Bruno Etavard, Meilland International, who had introduced to the 

public the work of breeders of ornamental and fruit varieties. 

benefit for authorities, as well as for 

breeders and applicants. 

In addition to the examination 

of varieties, UPOV continues to 

work on developing guidance 

for the implementation of the 

UPOV Convention in a range of 

aspects, particularly in the form of 

“explanatory notes”. The work on 

developing such explanatory notes 

within UPOV is organised so that 

CIOPORA and other observer organisations 

can provide their views 

on any relevant matter. CIOPORA 

has, for example, been particularly 

involved in the work on acts in 

respect of harvested material, essentially 

derived varieties, exceptions to 

the breeder’s right and the enforcement 

of breeders’ rights. 

Given the importance of the 

enforcement of breeders’ rights 

for breeders, CIOPORA and the 

International Seed Federation 

(ISF) were invited to express their 

views on that matter at a meeting 

organised by UPOV in 2005. Following 

that meeting, CIOPORA 

provided UPOV with information 

on elements of effective intellectual 

property protection which it considered 

would provide useful guidance. 

That information formed the basis of 

a non exhaustive list of enforcement 

measures in the “Explanatory Notes 

on the Enforcement of Breeders’ 

Rights under the UPOV Convention” 

which might be considered, as 

appropriate, by members and future 

members of the Union. ||| 

* Vice Secretary-General, UPOV. 


Patents 

In the plant breeding 

world patents are 

often viewed as 

dangerous. Plant 

variety rights would 

be good and green, 

whereas patents 

would be evil and 

red as they present 

a threat for the 

continuous flow 

of innovation. For 

the past few years, 

there has been 

a lively debate 

about the role of 

patents in relation 

to plant breeding 

and the question 

whether there is 

a need to curtail 

the use of patents 

in relation with 

plant innovation. 

What exactly is the 

problem and is there 

a solution? 

by Tjeerd Overdijk 

Barbarians at the 

gates – and many 

already passed! 

In principle, patents and PVRs 

are two different legal titles 

which aim to protect different 

subject matter. The most basic 

objective of the patent system is further 

innovation and the enhancement 

of technology in general. We 

like inventors. They bring us people 

new and useful things or processes. 

As an incentive we give inventors an 

award in the form of a monopoly 

for the exploitation of the invention 

for a certain period of time. 

Similar observations are true for 

plant variety protection: breeders 

of new varieties of plants help the 

enrichment of the genetic variety 

which is beneficial for the worldwide 

food supply. As an incentive 

to keep breeding we give them a 

monopoly for a certain period of 

time in order to exploit their new 

varieties. 

So the rationale for patents and 

plant variety rights are largely the 

same. 

Yet, a considerable difference exists 

with respect to the object of the 

protection. 

Some objects have been excluded 

from patent protection, e.g. plant 

or animal varieties or essentially 

biological processes. We do not 

have such exclusions in PVR laws. 

Never theless PVR laws are more 

limited in scope: they only relate 

to plant varieties. Patents can have 

a very wide scope in that they 

can relate to any kind of object or 

process. This is a reason why PVRs 

are generally seen as giving only 

a weak form of protection. Patent 

protection, on the other hand, is 

viewed as providing a strong form 

of protection as it offers a much 

broader scope of protection and is 

able to cover innovations that can 

be applied across a multitude of 

varieties. 

Practical examples 

There is probably a few mechanisms 

that may explain why we are hearing 

more and more about patents in 

the plant breeding world. Breeding 

companies of all types and sizes 

have constant need to cut costs. 

One of the ways to achieve reduced 

costs is increased economies of 

scale. Secondly, we see a rapid 

development of important biotechnological 

innovations (e.g. GMOs, 

marker assisted breeding etc.). 

These two factors together lead to 

an increased desire for a broader 

scope of protection for innovative 

products or processes. As a result 

we have seen the first legal battles 

involving patents related to plant 

breeding, plants or even harvested 

material or derivative products. 

An example is the chicory case 

between Enza Zaden and Vilmorin 

which was litigated in the Dutch 

courts. Enza lost this case because 

it was unable to prove the infringement, 

but the patent was potentially 

a real headache for Vilmorin. 

Then we had the famous Monsanto 

Roundup Ready cases in UK, 

Spain, DK and NL. 

Monsanto acted against the importation 

by soy meal trader Cefetra 

and others of soy meal produced 

from the well-known Roundup 

Ready soybean in Argentina, where 

there is no I.P. protection for the 

Roundup Ready. 

Monsanto was able to prove the 

presence of the patented DNA 

sequence which encodes for CP4- 

EPSPS in the soy meal. Cefetra argued 

that the DNA may be present 

in the soy meal, but not as an 

isolated substance. According to the 

defendants the DNA present in the 

soy meal could no longer express 

its function – soy meal is basically 

dead material. 

The court had to decide whether 

Monsanto would be able to object 

to the trading of the soy meal solely 

on the grounds that the DNA is 

present in the soy meal. In response 

to preliminary questions from the 

Dutch court the ECJ ruled that 

there cannot be patent protection 

when the patented product 

is contained in the soy meal but 

does not perform the function for 

which it is patented. The ECJ also 

ruled that Article 9 of the Directive 

brings an exhaustive harmonisation 

of the protection it confers, with the 


Tjeerd Overdijk says, "A more promising route to a solution might be offered by 

more liberal rules regarding compulsory licensing." (Photo Geert Snoeijer) 

result that it precludes the national 

patent legislation from offering 

broader (absolute) protection to the 

patented product as such. 

Then, just before the end of last 

year, we saw the conclusion of an 

ongoing debate on the eligibility for 

patent protection of certain breeding 

methods in the so-called "broccoli" 

(G 2/07) and "tomato" (G 

1/08) cases. These cases concerned 

patent applications for breeding 

methods involving steps of crossing, 

collecting hybrid seeds, growing 

plants therefrom, pollination and 

combined with screening methods 

including (in the broccoli case) the 

use of molecular markers (RFLPs) 

for the purpose of identifying 

desired hybrids. 

In both cases the Enlarged Board 

of Appeal gave an important ruling 

on the meaning of the exclusion of 

essentially biological processes as 

referred to in article 53 (b) EPC. 

In its decision the Board concluded 

that a process for the production of 

plants involving sexually cros sing 

whole plant genomes, and the 

subsequent selection of plants is not 

patentable. The mere inclusion of 

steps which serve to enable or assist 

the performance of the steps of sexually 

crossing the whole genomes of 

plants or of subsequently selecting 

plants does not override this 

exclusion from patentability. While 

technical devices or means, such as 

genetic markers, may themselves be 

patentable inventions, their use does 

not make an essentially biological 

process patentable. 

Substantial influx 

One might think that the decisions 

passed at the European level in the 

three mentioned cases will severely 

restrict the reach of patents into 

the breeding world, but the effect 

must not be overestimated. Even 

though we have had some clear 

guidance from the European Court 

and the EPO on what should be 

deemed outside the scope of patent 

protection, this is not the end of 

patents for plant breeding or plants 

resulting from breeding work. 

Since (roughly) the beginning of 

this century we have extended 

possibilities for patenting biotech 

inventions, which has lead to a 

substantial influx of patent rights 

in the world of plant breeding. It 

seems that an astonishing number 

of 4,500 patent applications related 

to plants have been filed over the 

last 10 years that involve biological 

material, including gene sequences 

and plants. 

This is an issue of increasing 

concern for plant breeders, simply 

because there is no breeders’ 

exemption which secures access 

to patented germplasm. In case an 

improvement is subject to a patent, 

the rest of the world has to wait 20 

years before it can be freely used. 

There are also reports of companies 

that have requested their competitors 

to abandon plant breeding programmes 

which allegedly infringe >>> 


Patents 

their patent applications. This 

could have the effect of an immediate 

blockage of the development of 

competitive varieties. 

Since (roughly) 

the beginning of 

this century we 

have extended 

possibilities for 

patenting biotech 

inventions, which 

has lead to a 

substantial influx 

of patent rights in 

the world of plant 

breeding. 

Conclusions 

Solid ground 

We cannot deny that the patent 

system has gained solid ground in 

the world of plant breeding and is 

• Patents increasingly form an obstacle to plant breeding because they can 

restrict access to germplasm; 

• This is not materially changed by restrictive interpretation of the Biotech 

Directive on issues like the requirement that genetic material performs its 

function, or the exclusion of essentially biological processes; 

• Amendment of existing laws is difficult; 

• We need other creative solutions, such as a broader application of compulsory 

licensing, to restore a productive and reasonable balance. 

here to stay. Patent laws provide 

for a balanced system for the enhancement 

of innovation and they 

have a much longer history than 

PVP-based protection systems. In 

essence there does not seem to be 

a sound systematic reason to allow 

for a special carve out from patents 

for the plant breeding industry. 

If, for example, the car industry 

came to the legislator with the 

complaint that all these patents for 

car components make it difficult to 

produce safer cars, this would not 

present a reason to create a special 

exemption for car manufacturers 

to make use of inventions that 

have a connection to safety in the 

automotive industry. Therefore 

it will be not easy to think of a 

good reason for a kind of positive 

discrimination for breeding 

companies. 

Liberal rules 

The problem posed by patents will 

not be solved by amending the 

legislation so as to include a limited 

exemption for breeding work, 

which has been done in France 

and Germany. Such a freedom for 

breeding purposes has little meaning 

when new varieties are to be 

introduced on the market. 

A more promising route to a 

solution might be offered by more 

liberal rules regarding compulsory 

licensing. So far, the requirement 

of significant technical progress 

of considerable economic interest 

has been applied very strictly. 

As a result there are virtually no 

examples of breeding companies 

that have made successful attempts 

for obtaining compulsory licenses. 

If a patent appears to block the 

development of new varieties on a 

large scale, a more liberal approach 

to compulsory licensing could 

present an effective and reasonable 

tool to remove the obstacle, without 

wiping out the reward factor of 

patents altogether. 

In my view this would be far easier 

than trying to bend the whole 

system, because this would take 

years - if at all successful. ||| 


D.U.S. Working Group 

Established in 2010, 

CIOPORA’s D.U.S 

Working Group 

focuses on key 

issues surrounding 

D.U.S. examination, 

in particular the 

important role that 

D.U.S. can play 

in the protection 

of new vegetal 

varieties. The 

D.U.S. Working 

Group brings 

together leaders 

from throughout 

the plant breeding 

community, 

including 

researchers, 

lawyers, business 

people and 

representatives 

royalty 

administration 

services. 

Working 

The D.U.S. Working Group brings together leaders 

from throughout the plant breeding community. 

Group 

focuses on D.U.S. 

examination 

by Dominique Thévenon 

One of the main problems 

breeders face when it comes 

to the commercial exploitation 

of their varieties, is the direct 

competition of other protected 

varieties that look very similar to 

their owns. 

Vegetal varieties can be granted a 

PBR (Plant Breeder's Right) based 

on small visual differences, which in 

many cases are not noticeable by the 

consumers; this creates confusion 

on the market, and is detrimental to 

the good exercise of breeders’ rights. 

Breeders who invest a lot of time and 

money in creating innovative products, 

being new fruit or ornamental 

types or varieties, must be assured 

to be offered the possibility to effectively 

protect those creations and to 

market them based on strong PBRs. 

Reflexion 

CIOPORA, concerned with the 

potential weakening of protection 

titles, proposed to its members the 

creation of a working group on 

D.U.S., with the aim of initiating 

a reflexion on the D.U.S. examination 

system in order to propose 

improvements. 

This working group was actually 

formed in early 2010, and the first 

kick-off meeting was organized 

on the occasion of the CIOPORA 

AGM in Seville, Spain in March 

2010, where the first working 

agenda was defined. 

The group is composed of 13 

members, representing 7 countries 

and over 20 different crops, and 

is chaired by Mrs Dominique 

Thévenon. 

Priority tasks 

The second meeting took place 

in Amsterdam in June 2010 and 

identified more precisely the priority 

tasks to “tackle” in relation to 

the D.U.S. examination system. It 

was decided to first focus on the 

issue of minimal distances between 

varieties. 

When the group met for the 

3rd time in Essen, Germany, in 

January 2011, Mr Raimundo 

Lavignolle, Director of UPOV, 

Mr Dirk Theobald, Head of the 

CPVO Technical Unit and Mrs 

Andrea Menne, head of the section 

ornamental plants in the German 

Bundessortenamt, were invited to 

share information with the group 

members about the D.U.S. system 

for vegetal varieties from the perspective 

of ruling bodies. 

Sufficiently broad minimal 

distances are essential in the ornamental 

and fruit sector in order to 

safeguard effective PBR protection. 

The CIOPORA Working Group 

will develop solutions on how to 

cope with this difficult subject in 

the future. ||| 


Working Group 

The effective 

enforcement 

of Intellectual 

Property Rights 

is of utmost 

importance for 

breeders. CIOPORA 

actively promotes 

the elaboration 

of a standard 

modus operandi 

of DNA analysis, 

in order support 

the enforcement 

of Intellectual 

Property Rights. 


recognises that the 

use of molecular 

markers for the 

enforcement of 

IP rights, the 

determination of 

Essentially Derived 

Varieties and 

variety examination 

can be useful. 

However, its 

application must be 

sound and in line 

with the currently 

applied standards 

and systems. 

Jan de Riek 

by Jan de Riek 

Focus on molecular 

techniques for PVR 

The Working Group was 

initiated in December 

2009. In its composition, a 

balanced mix was made between 

breeder-members and lawyers, 

combining expertise on both the 

technical, application oriented 

and legal aspects of the complex 

subject dealt with. Previous 

actions within CIOPORA have 

already brought two ‘hanging 

issues’ on our agenda: (1) the use 

of molecular markers for variety 

identification, description, testing, 

IP protection etc. and (2), Essentially 

Derived Varieties (EDV) 

and how to cope with them. In 

these domains alone, many open 

questions could already be defi 

ned that might justify the action 

of a CIOPORA Working Group. 

As a breeder’s association, we need 

positions that can influence our 

daily business and that we can use 

in our contacts with “regulators” 

i.e. EU, UPOV or whatever national 

or international body that 

is dealing with our plant varieties. 

CIOPORA position paper on 

the use of Molecular Markers 

for variety testing 

Due to the progress made at the 

UPOV-BMT Working Group 

and also because of national plant 

variety examination offices that 

are starting to deeply evaluate 

molecular marker based decision 

support in their daily action, 

all participants confi rmed the 

urgent need of such a position by 

CIOPORA. A draft version of 

this position paper has already 

been submitted to the CIOPORA 

Board and will progress through 

the CIOPORA bodies to be approved. 

Guidelines for the application of 

Molecular Markers 

Recent disputes between breeders 

resulting into court cases and 

decisions, have again shown the 

need for harmonization and a kind 

of industry-standard for the use 

of Molecular Markers in cases of 

putative EDVs and the enforcement 

of IPR. The Working Group is fully 

aware that besides CIOPORA, 

many other players are in the field: 

governments, trade organizations, 

testing authorities, UPOV bodies, 

plant breeders associations, international 

initiatives for establishing 

testing guidelines for seeds, plant 

material and harvested material. 

For the assessments of EDV, the 

Working Group will draft technical 

guidelines to come to a crop specific 

protocol for EDV assessment and 

Guidelines are needed for the application of molecular markers. 

will list legal issues concerning the 

EDV position that need further 

specification. The application to 

other domains (variety testing, 

infringements) is merely a redefinition 

of appropriate thresholds and 

boundaries. It is in our advantage 

to come together with the other 

relevant partners in the field to a 

consensus approach; therefore, the 

Working Group will take contact 

with different experts in the field 

and will try to bring forward 

decisive criteria for evaluating 

procedures that rely on Molecular 

Markers. In such a way, the Working 

Group is considering the 

introduction of a label “CIOPO- 

RA-approved” for marker labs that 

provide testing services to breeders 

for variety identification. ||| 


PBR and Patents 

In order to attract 

more states to adopt 

an effective Plant 

Breeders´ Rights 

regime throughout 

the world, a two 

pillar strategy might 

be helpful: Firstly, 

it is necessary to 

raise the awareness 

of the benefits 

and the business 

opportunities arising 

with ornamental 

and fruit production 

in developing and 

newly industrialised 

countries. Secondly, 

breeding companies 

and trade should 

apply a strict policy 

of non-acceptance 

of countries which 

do not provide 

an effective IP 

protection for 

plant innovations, 

and should use all 

means to prevent 

counterfeited 

products. 

by Dr. Edgar Krieger 

Plant Breeders´ Right – 

The world is changing 

permanently, sometimes 

faster, sometimes slower. In 

the ornamental and fruit business 

the world has changed significantly 

and rapidly in the past 25 years 

due to the economic globalisation. 

Globalization has brought 

new markets, new producers, new 

products and even a new calendar 

to the business. While in the past 

the industrialised countries had 

been the main consumer-markets 

for ornamental and fruit products, 

more and more countries with a 

high population and a high growth 

rate have joined that group. 

Production sites have also changed. 

Developing and newly industrialised 

countries with favourable 

environmental and production 

conditions are the new producers of 

ornamentals and fruits and are increasingly 

squeezing out the traditional 

producers of such crops. The 

range of products increases weekly 

and the old seasonal calendar for 

crops has been replaced by an year 

round availability of each and any 

product. Strawberries in winter, 

grapes in summer, passion fruit 

juice wherever you want, fruits to 

drink and flowers to eat – everything 

at any time. 

CIOPORA has been associated 

with the ornamental and fruit 

breeding business for the past 50 

years, taking care of good IP protection 

of vegetatively reproduced 

ornamental and fruit varieties. 

CIOPORA has foreseen many 

developments and has requested 

solutions from politics and governments 

to cope with these developments. 

Therefore, it is also now up 

to CIOPORA to ask how to cope 

with the aforementioned developments 

in terms of IP protection. 

UPOV 

A look at Plant Breeders´ Rights automatically 

is a look at UPOV, the 

organisation, which governs this 

most important IP regime for plant 

varieties. Today, UPOV, after 50 

years of existence, has 68 members 

– a relative success if compared to 

the overall number of states of 195 

and compared, for example, to the 

Convention on Biological Diversity 

(CBD), which, within one year after 

it was opened for signature on 5 

June 1992, received 168 signatures 

of acceding states and now includes 

193 members. 

Among the 68 UPOV members, 45 

are bound by the 1991 Act, 22 by 

the 1978 Act and one is still bound 

by the 1961 Convention as amended 

by the 1972 Act. Looking at the last 

ten years it turns out that out of the 

22 new members of UPOV, only 

five have significant horticultural 

production. Important countries 

such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, 

China and Mexico are still bound by 

the UPOV 1978 Act. 

Highly professional 

UPOV is a highly professional, efficient 

and well-organised organisation. 

The reason for the apparent 

lack of UPOV´s popularity therefore 

cannot be found in its internal 

structure. But why there are still not 

more members acceding UPOV? 

A closer look shows that it is the 

content of the UPOV 1991 Act, 

which obviously prevents more states 

to join UPOV 1 . 

An example on how critical IPprotection 

and the UPOV 1991 Act 

are seen by many countries can be 

found in the Report of the Special 

Rapporteur on the right to food, 

transmitted to the General Assembly 

of the UN in July 2009, by Olivier 

De Schutter, who writes: Paragraph 

39 “Intellectual property rights reward 

and encourage standardization and 

homogeneity, […]. In addition, 

intellectual property rights […] can 

constitute a direct impediment to innovation 

by farmers.” 

Paragraph 40 “The strengthening of 

breeders’ rights in the 1991 UPOV 

Convention is also a concern in this 

regard. This convention prohibits 

the commercialization of varieties 

which are essentially derived from 

a PVP-protected variety (article 14 

(5)), and farmers are now prohibited 

from exchanging or selling seeds saved 

from the harvest of protected varieties 

(article 15). In order to circumvent 

these limitations, developing countries 

where the function of traditional, 

farmers’ seed systems is most important 

both for the prevention of genetic erosion 

and for the livelihoods of farming 

communities should design sui generis 

forms of protection of plant varieties 

which allow these systems to flourish, 

even if this means adopting non-UP- 

OV compliant legislation; and if they 

do join UPOV, they should use all the 

flexibilities available to them .” 2 

Horticulture is no 

agriculture 

These statements, which have 

been contested by UPOV, refer 

to agriculture and specifically to 

small scale subsistence farming. 

Indeed, in developing and newly 

indus trialised countries, a big part 

of the population is dependent on 

small scale farming. This includes 

the saving of seed and –in some 

people's opinion– also its exchange 

with neighbours. Opponents of 


Quo vadis? 

Breeders ask for 

clear and effective 

rules which 

safeguard fair 

competition. 

Dr. Edgar Krieger, Secretary General CIOPORA. 

effective IP for plant varieties claim 

that, in order to protect such small 

scale subsistence farming, the 

unrestricted handling of farm saved 

seed would be necessary and that 

UPOV 1991 would prohibit such 

free handling. 

This opposition against effective 

Plant Breeders´ Rights protection 

in the area of agriculture has 

also caused a negative impact on 

horticulture. Nowadays, only the 

fewest states differentiate between 

agriculture and horticulture in their 

IP-legislation although subsistence 

farming is not at all comparable with 

horticultural production, where an 

industry-like approach is applied 

with large production units and 

often a strong export orientation. 

As a consequence of this critical 

approach towards UPOV 1991, 

important countries for the horticultural 

business, such as Ethiopia, 

India, Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand 

have not acceded UPOV and 

do not offer effective IP protection 

for plant varieties. Other important 

countries have not make the step 

forward to upgrade their law from 

UPOV 1978 to UPOV 1991. 

TRIPS agreement 

In addition to the fact that these 

countries are missing the chance to 

improve and increase their horticultural 

industry 3 , it should be noted 

that not providing for an effective 

protection system for plant varieties 

constitutes a breach of Article 27 (3) 

(b) of the TRIPS Agreement, according 

to which all WTO members shall 

provide for the protection of plant varieties 

either by patents or by an effective 

sui generis system or by any combination 

thereof. Although the lack of effective 

IP protection for plant varieties in 

developing countries has a negative 

economic impact in the industrial 

countries, the governments of these 

countries have so far not shown any 

noticeable interest for these breaches 

of the TRIPS agreement 4 . 

Considering that for vegetatively 

reproduced ornamental and fruit 

varieties only the UPOV 1991 Act 

can be seen as an (almost) effective 

sui generis system, one must realise 

that in more than 75% of the states 

worldwide, no effective protection 

for these crops exists. Furthermore, 

this figure does not even take into 

account that effective enforcement is 

also lacking in several UPOV 1991 

member states. 

Not fully efficient 

In view of the too limited expansion 

of Plant Breeders´ Rights in the 

world, one should not overlook that 

the scope of the right as provided 

for in the UPOV 1991 Act is still 

not fully sufficient for vegetatively 

reproduced ornamental and fruit 

varieties. UPOV 1991 and the 

corresponding national PBR legislations 

still do not take into account 

that the exploitation of vegetatively 

reproduced ornamentals and fruits 

follows their own rules, which are 

not comparable to agricultural 

crops. 

The seed-focused terminology of 

UPOV 1991 does not apply to vegetatively 

reproduced ornamentals 

and fruits. In most of these crops, it 

is not the production of propagating 

material which constitutes the 

object of the exploitation, but the 

use of the variety for the production 

of semi-finished products 

like cuttings and young plants or 

end-products, such as cut-flowers 

and fruits. 

>>> 

CIOPORA Chronicle April 2011 | CIOPORA.org 27

PBR and Patents 

For these crops, neither the definition 

of propagating material 5 and 

harvested material nor the demarcation 

between these two groups is 

clear 6 . The notion of “intended use 

for propagation” significantly limits 

the scope of the right, especially as 

harvested material is only protected 

under certain limitations and conditions. 

Another limiting factor is the too 

broadly worded exhaustion of 

Plant Breeders´ Rights in combination 

with the limited protection 

of harvested material. It leads to 

negative effects particularly for the 

aforementioned global horticulture 

production. 

Fruit juice 

In this regard, the lack of protection 

of processed material is also 

becoming increasingly disturbing. 

Although UPOV 1991 provides 

for the (optional) protection of 

processed material, only very few 

countries have included such protection 

in their PBR laws. 

However, the processing of harvested 

material, mainly of fruits, has also 

shifted from industrialised countries 

to the sites where the plants are 

grown. An effective protection, 

therefore, also requires the protection 

of processed products, in order 

to prevent illegal processed material 

to enter protected territories. 

Two pillar strategy 

Breeders are not the only ones who 

ask for clear and effective rules 

which safeguard fair competition. 

Growers are also pleading for a fair 

competition between countries and 

all players in the business. 8 

In order to attract more states to 

adopt an effective Plant Breeders´ 

Rights regime throughout the 

world, a two pillar strategy might 

be helpful: Firstly, it is necessary to 

raise the awareness of the benefits 

and the business opportunities 

arising with ornamental and fruit 

production in developing and 

newly industrialised countries. 

Secondly, breeders and the trade 

should apply a strict policy of 

non-acceptance of countries which 

do not provide an effective IP protection 

for plant innovations, and 

should use all means to prevent 

illegal products originating from 

such countries to enter territories 

where protection is granted for 

their varieties. 

In order to strengthen the Plant 

Breeders´ Rights, it will be necessary 

to raise awareness about the 

specific requirements of vegetatively 

reproduced ornamental and 

fruit varieties and to close the gaps 

which currently exist. 

For 50 years now, it has been the 

role of CIOPORA to keep the 

constant development of effective 

IP-protection running – and in the 

coming 50 years, CIOPORA will 

also contribute to the development 

of effective IP protection – to the 

benefit of the business as a whole. ||| 

1 According to Article 37 (3) of the 

UPOV 1991 Act new UPOV 

members can only accede to the 

UPOV 1991 Act and not to the 

older Acts. 

2 Oliver De Schutter: The right to 

food, Seed policies and the right to 

food: enhancing agrobiodiversity 

and encouraging innovation. http:// 

daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UN- 

DOC/GEN/N09/424/73/PDF/ 

N0942473.pdf?OpenElement 

3 See the UPOV report on the 

impact of plant variety protection, 

which has demonstrated a range of 

beneficial impacts also to developing 

countries, UPOV publication No. 

353 (E). 

4 To date 420 disputes about the 

non-compliance with WTO rules 

have been brought to the WTO, 28 

of them in the field of Intellectual 

Property. However, no WTO member 

has started such a procedure on 

the grounds of non-compliance with 

Article 27 (3) (b) TRIPS. 

5 A study of the definitions of “propagating 

material” in the PBR laws 

of 12 major UPOV member states 

shows that the definition is different 

(sometimes significantly, but at least 

in details) in all of the selected PBR 

laws. 

6 The German Supreme court in its 

Melanie case hold that finished 

Calluna plants cannot be considered 

as harvested material, because 

there is no act of “harvest”. 

7 Article 14 (3) of the UPOV 1991 

Act, which contains the same limitations 

as for harvested material 

8 See e.g. the article of AIPH on page 

35 in this magazine. 

Developing and newly industrialised 

countries with favourable environmental 

and production conditions are the new 

producers of ornamentals and fruits 

and are increasingly squeezing out the 

traditional producers of such crops. 


ISF 

On the occasion 

of CIOPORA’s 


Marcel Bruins, 

Secretary-General 

of the International 

Seed Federation 

(ISF) offers his 

congratulations 

and looks forward 

to continued 

successful 

cooperation. ISF 

represents the 

interests of the 

mainstream of 

the seed industry 

at a global level 

through interaction 

and dialogue with 

public and private 

institutions that 

have an impact on 

international seed 

trade. 

Marcel Bruins, 

Secretary-General ISF. 

CIOPORA- ISF: partnership 

to benefit breeders worldwide 

of all, I would like to 

congratulate CIOPORA 

“First 

on its 50th Anniversary, 

and look forward to a continued 

successful cooperation. Writing on 

behalf of the International Seed 

Federation (ISF), I can only start 

with “Seed is Life”. In fact, seed is 

the start of everything. It takes a 

seed to produce food for humans, 

feed for animals, fiber, fuel and 

many other industrial applications. 

In this anniversary issue of CIOPO- 

RA, I can also add that most 

breeding of vegetatively propagated 

ornamental plants and fruit trees 

passes through a seed phase at some 

point in the variety creation.” 

Warm heart 

ISF carries a warm heart towards 

the ornamental sector. “CIOPORA 

(and Fleuroselect) have an observer 

status in several of the ISF Committees 

and Section Boards and representatives 

of these two organisations 

attend ISF meetings and the annual 

ISF World Seed Congress (1,500 attendees) 

on a regular basis”, outlines 

Bruins. He continues, “I am happy 

to report that for many years now, 

ISF has had a Section Vegetables 

and Ornamentals, and this section 

sees one of the best attended Section 

meetings during the congress, with 

close to 200 participants. 

With the challenges we’re being 

faced with today (growing 

population, changing diet, climate 

change and several others) there 

is a continuing need for new and 

better adapted plant varieties. The 

seed industry works on improved 

varieties that have a higher yield, 

better resistances against pests and 

diseases, higher tolerances against 

abiotic stresses, better earliness, 

taste, size, nutritional and crop 

quality, firmness, shelf-life, plant 

type, harvestability and less labor 

requirements.” 


CIOPORA’s ornamental breeders 

contribute, in a similar manner, to 

the well-being, and well-feeling of 

people. The same goes for the breeders 

of asexually reproduced fruit 

trees. Improved fruit tree varieties 

show many of the improved characteristics 

mentioned above. 

However, such huge investments 

cannot be guaranteed if there is 

no acceptable return on investment. 

“Therefore, ISF members are 

unanimously in favor of a strong 

and effective intellectual property 

protection, which is a prerequisite in 

order to encourage further research 

efforts. This is where the paths of 

CIOPORA and ISF often meet, defending 

the interests of the breeders 

in the meetings of UPOV”, explains 

Bruins.. 

Common tasks 

Intellectual Property Protection is 

crucial for a sustainable contribution 

of plant breeding and seed 

supply. One of the common tasks 

of CIOPORA and ISF is to ensure 

that there is an effective and bal- 

Seed is life! 

anced system of protection as it is a 

key enabling factor for investment 

in breeding and the development of 

new varieties. 

“Through the relentless efforts 

of plant breeders, the ISF and 

CIOPORA members can be proud 

of themselves as the yield increases 

have lead to an incredible decrease 

in deforestation. Millions of sqm 

did not have to be taken into production 

because of the higher yields. 

In addition, studies have indicated 

that resistant varieties are saving 

billions of USD on crop protection 

products each year’, says Bruins. He 

adds, “ Not to mention the savings 

of millions of liters in diesel of all 

those tractors not having to spray, 

thereby also reducing agriculture's 

environmental impact. Drought, 

salt and flood tolerant varieties also 

provide a much better harvest security 

in times where an unpredictable 

climate often determines life or 

death.” 

Huge impact 

The impact of better, vigorous, 

healthy plant varieties is huge. 

“These are not just hobby projects”, 

says Bruins referring to the 90 million 

people per year which are affected 

by drought, the 106 million 

people per year affected by flooding 

and the 900 million hectares of soil 

affected by salinity (FAO-data). 

Bruins concludes, “It’s safe to say 

that through a diversity of high 

yielding varieties, resistance to 

diseases and with a higher tolerance 

to abiotic stresses, the seed industry 

has significantly contributed and 

will continue to be a major contributor 

to sustainable agriculture and 

an increased food security, whilst 

reducing input costs, greenhouse 

gas emissions and deforestation. It 

is at the forefront of efforts to meet 

the immense challenges of finite 

arable land and water resources, and 

extreme weather patterns facing the 

planet. Seed is Life!” ||| 


AGM’s 

Strassbourg, France 1983 

Rome, Italy 2011 


Annual General Meeting 

provides great forum for international networking 

This year CIOPORA’s Annual General Meeting is set to 

be held in Rome on Monday April 11 to Thursday April 

14. The four-day event will include the celebration 

of CIOPORA’s 50th anniversary. The conference will 

kick off on April 11th with a seminar on intellectual 

property, crop section meetings and a reception. 

Internal meetings of the CIOPORA working groups, the 

annual meeting itself and a dinner for the CIOPORA 

members are planned for April 12th. The main 

anniversary celebrations will take on April 13 with an 

international conference on Intellectual Property and a 

Gala Dinner for members and friends of CIOPORA. The 

assembly will conclude with a business trip on April 14. 

Over the years CIOPORA’s AGM’s evolved from a 

modest local meeting into a gathering of the world 

plant breeding industry attracting breeders, growers, 

researchers, lawyers, journalists and all kind of 

business people involved in the exciting world of plant 

breeding. 

CIOPORA removed the cobwebs from it archives to 

reveal a collection of photos as sweet memories of 

days long gone. 

The founding meeting of CIOPORA occurred on 

February 4th 1961, in Geneva, Switzerland with Wilhelm 

Kordes II as the organisation’s first president. Since 

then, both capital cities and smaller towns including 

Paris, San Remo, Cuernavaca, London, Campinas, 

Budapest, Brussels, Strassbourg, Washington and 

Beijing have hosted CIOPORA’s premier event. 

As in the past, the forthcoming AGM in Rome will 

enhance existing relations and friendships between 

members, allow new members to introduce themselves 

and their company and, most importantly, be a forum 

for discussions and decisions. 

Baden/Vienna, Austria 1989 

San Remo, Italy 1991 

Nice, France 2005 


Mexico 2007 


Campinas, Brasil 2009 

Seville, Spain 2010 Dr. Birte Lorenzen, Dr. Edgar 

Krieger and Maria Stella Aguiar Negraes 

Beijing, China 2006 

Washington, USA 1987 


Nice, France 2005 reception René Royon. 

Seville, Spain 2010 

Mexico 2007 

Year Town President 

1961 Geneva Wilhelm Kordes II 

1962 San Remo Wilhelm Kordes II 

1963 Hamburg Wilhelm Kordes II 

1964 Paris Wilhelm Kordes II 

1965 Ghent Sam McGreedy 

1966 Geneva Sam McGreedy 

1967 Paris Reimer Kordes 

1968 San Remo Reimer Kordes 

1969 Paris Reimer Kordes 

1970 Baden, Wien Reimer Kordes 

1971 Genova Reimer Kordes 

1972 Amsterdam Reimer Kordes 

1973 Hamburg Reimer Kordes 

1974 Wien Reimer Kordes 

1975 London Reimer Kordes 

1976 Madrid Reimer Kordes 

1977 Budapest Reimer Kordes 

1978 Brussels Reimer Kordes 

1979 London Reimer Kordes 

1980 Vedbaek/CPH Reimer Kordes 

1981 Nice Patrick Dickson 

1982 Geneva Patrick Dickson 

1983 Strasbourg Jack van Andel 

1984 Hannover Jack van Andel 

1985 Brussels Jack van Andel 

1986 Genova Jack van Andel 

1987 Washington Peter Ilsink 

1988 London Peter Ilsink 

1989 Baden, Vienna Peter Ilsink 

1990 Antwerp Peter Ilsink 

1991 San Remo Peter Ilsink 

1992 Munich Peter Ilsink 

1993 Zurich Peter Ilsink 

1994 Budapest Peter Ilsink 

1995 Barcelona Peter Ilsink 

1996 Nairobi Omer Schneider 

1997 Strasbourg Omer Schneider 

1998 Tokyo/Chiba Omer Schneider 

1999 Copenhagen Maarten Leune 

2000 Warsaw Maarten Leune 

2001 Paris Maarten Leune 

2002 Berlin Maarten Leune 

2003 Prague Maarten Leune 

2004 London Maarten Leune 

2005 Nice Maarten Leune 

2006 Beijing Lars Henriksen 

2007 Cuernavaca Lars Henriksen 

2008 Geneva Lars Henriksen 

2009 Campinas Lars Henriksen 

2010 Seville Lars Henriksen 

2011 Rome Lars Henriksen 

2012 Miami 

2013 Angers 


©MEILLAND Photo: DoUBLE M PRoDUCtIoN

Meilland 

Let’s get the facts 

straight first. ‘3 

35 40’ is not a 

date, nor a strange 

figure. This is the 

code reference for 

a Meilland rose 

variety sent to 

the USA in 1939, 

which has become 

one of the most 

famous in the world 

thanks to its own 

characteristics and 

beauty, since it was 

first released in … 

1945. 

by Bruno Etavard 

Meilland is 

IP oriented 

since ‘3 35 40’ 

The Peace Rose, as it was 

named, immediately created 

a fabulous impact on the 

House of Meilland in terms of IP 

minded orientation, as it was first 

patented in the USA during World 

War II (US Pl.Pat.591), and distributed 

under licence there. 

Alain Meilland’s father, Francis, 

and his American friends (Robert 

Pyle and the Hutton family from 

Conard-Pyle) certainly strengthened 

the concept of Intellectual 

Property applied to vegetatively 

reproduced plants at that time. 

Passion 

Since then, the House of Meilland 

has diversified its rose breeding 

activities, looking for different 

uses of the rose, whether for 

traditional gardens (with target 

to AARS winners), introducing 

varieties such as Var. Meiviolin 

"EDEN ROSE"®/"PIERRE DE 

RONSARD"®, awarded “Hall 

of Fame” by WFRS(*) in Osaka 

few years ago, or for landscaping 

(MEIDILAND®), pot rose production 

(MEILLANDINA®) and cut 

flower production introducing new 

varieties such as Var. Meikatana 

"SAMOURAI"®. 

As a constant guide-line, Alain 

Meilland has always believed that 

innovation in rose breeding results 

from the combination of appropriate 

expertise, extended genetic pool 

and of course imagination which 

enables the breeder to express his 

passion for roses. 

Worldwide IP strategy 

Needless to say that the returns from 

that core business activities rely on 

an adequate worldwide IP strategy 

constructed on relevant tools, when 

available, throughout the North and 

South American continents, in the 

27 countries of the European Union, 

Africa, Far East and new territories 

such as China and Russia. 

For nearly 70 years, the said strategy 

has been the House of Meilland’s 

base for long term developments in 

order to ensure the peaceful exploitation 

of its protected varieties through 

its network of authorised licensees 

and sub-licensees worldwide. And it 

still remains. 


As one of the founding members of 

CIOPORA, Meilland is convinced 

that there is a need for acquiring 

and sharing through CIOPORA 

IP knowledge and, of course, for promoting 

it in the widest possible way 

to the benefit of all those concerned. 

For the 6th generation of the House 

of Meilland held by the Meilland- 

Richardier families, it means that, 

as Alain Meilland uses to say, “There 

is no research without protection, 

no protection without control, no 

control without prior jurisprudence.” 

Happy Jubilee to CIOPORA!!!!! ||| 

* World Federation of Rose Societies 

Francis Meilland and Robert Pyle. 

Var. Meiviolin "EDEN 

ROSE"®/"PIERRE DE 

RONSARD"®. This rose was 

awarded “Hall of Fame” 

by the World Federation of 

Rose Societies (WFRS) in 

Osaka few years ago 

(©MEILLAND Photo: 

DOUBLE M PRODUCTION) 


ESA 

Plants constitute 

a vital element 

of our day-to-day 

life. Agricultural 

species, vegetables, 

ornamental plants – 

they are all part of 

our wellbeing and 

it is incontestable 

that in today’s 

world, under the 

current and future 

challenges that the 

growing population, 

climate change and 

other factors raise, 

there is a constant 

need for ever better 

performing varieties 

meeting the needs 

of consumers. In 

order to meet these 

goals, continuous 

innovation in 

plant breeding 

is indispensible, 

which can only be 

ensured if there is 

a strong incentive 

to invest in further 

innovation. For this, 

intellectual property 

protection is key 

for the whole plant 

breeding industry 

as it provides 

the necessary 

framework for 

a fair return on 

investment. 

by Szonja Csörgő 

IP – a common interest in 

the past, present and future 

For the European plant breeding 

and seed industry the 

UPOV-based sui generis IP 

system, the plant breeder’s rights 

system, has been the most important 

IP tool for decades. It provides 

effective IP protection for new 

plant varieties and fits the specific 

nature and needs of the industry 

well. Effective intellectual property 

protection for plants and seeds has 

always been a top priority for ESA 

and its membership, just like for 

CIOPORA and its members. The 

topic of IP protection and with that 

UPOV and the Community Plant 

Variety Office (CPVO) consequently 

are the forums where both 

ESA and CIOPORA constantly 

work for even better IP protection 

for the sector. 

Enforcement of PBR 

At the EU level the two organisations 

have achieved the possibility 

to be consulted as breeders’ 

organisations in the preparation 

of the agenda and the work of the 

Administrative Council of the 

CPVO via preparatory meetings, 

which have proven to be a very 

useful and influential way of communication 

throughout the years. 

In recognition of this, in spring 

2010, breeder’s organisations were 

formally admitted to the meetings 

of the Administrative Council 

as observers and both ESA and 

CIOPORA have been granted this 

‘Observer’ status. This new status 

offers a more formal and direct opportunity 

to inform authorities and 

administrations about the needs 

and views of the industry regarding 

further improvement of the existing 

IP system. 

One aspect where both ESA and 

CIOPORA have been struggling 

with shortcomings and are pleading 

for changes in policy and legislation 

concerns the possibilities for 

enforcement of plant breeder’s 

rights in Europe. Given that in the 

case of plants we are talking about 

living material, some enforcement 

mechanisms (such as seizure of 

goods or collection of evidence) 

that function well for other types 

of goods might work differently 

here or might not work at all. On 

the other hand, infringement of IP 

rights on plant varieties is just as 

common as for other products - if 

not even much easier given the 

self-reproductive nature of the 

material. In order to raise awareness 

and disseminate information 

on infringements and enforcement 

possibilities under European 

legislation ESA and CIOPORA 

as well as the CPVO regularly 

organise seminars and workshops 

on the topic. In the annual CPVO 

seminars CIOPORA as well as 

ESA are active contributors to the 

Left to right: Sabine Bausch, 

Bert Scholte, Szonja Csörgő, Garlich 

von Essen and Marguerite Ryan. 

programme where they share the 

experiences and views of breeders 

with respect to enforcement and the 

related practical difficulties. Here, 

it is important to be aware that the 

current review of the EU’s PVP 

legislation – in which all breeders’ 

organisations are closely involved – 

might finally provide a possibility 

for improvements in this respect. 

ESA has already been working hard 

to prepare for this important and 

challenging policy review and has 

adopted a number of related position 

papers which can be found on 

the ESA website (www.euroseeds. 

org). 

Besides the review of the CPVR 

system there are certainly other important 

IP related discussions, such 

as EDVs or the still unresolved issue 

of interface between patents and 

plant breeder’s rights, which keep 

the plant breeding industry and its 

organisations busy in discussions 

worldwide. 

Looking back at the achievements 

and ahead at all the challenges 

regarding IP protection for the 

sector, we congratulate CIOPORA 

on its 50th anniversary celebration 

and we look forward to continue 

working towards the common goal 

of a strong and practical protection 

of breeders’ rights in Europe and 

worldwide! ||| 


AIPH 

AIPH, the 

International 

Association for 

Horticultural 

Producers, is 

looking forward to 

cooperating with 

CIOPORA over the 

next 50 years! 

by Mia Buma 

Cooperation between 

CIOPORA and AIPH is crucial 

The AIPH is a coordinating 

body representing horticultural 

producers' organisations 

and their members all over the 

world. It was set up in Switzerland 

in 1948 to stimulate free trade and 

international marketing of flowers, 

plants and landscaping services. An 

increasing number of growers’ organisations 

have joined AIPH with 

more than 25 countries represented 

in 2010. They all share the benefits 

of their membership. 

Mrs. Mia Buma, 

Secretary of the AIPH 

Committee for Novelty 

Protection and 

Mr. Sjaak Langeslag, 

Secretary General 

of AIPH 

(Photo: René Faas). 

nual Congress and during theme 

sessions. The most important AIPH 

publication is the yearbook containing 

statistics on production, trade 

and market developments for ornamental 

products. Six standing committees 

operate within the AIPH in 

respective fields of breeders' rights, 

the environment, international 

horticultural exhibitions, statistics, 

science and education and ‘The 

Green City’. The organisation works 

in close co-operation with relevant 

other international organisations, 

which are active in this field. 

In addition to CIOPORA, there is 

also cooperation with the international 

flower trade association, Union 

Fleurs, with Entente Florale and the 

International Society for Horticultural 

Science (ISHS). AIPH represents 

the participating organisations in 

discussions with international bodies 

such as the International Bureau on 

Exhibitions (BIE), Convention on 

International Trade in Endangered 

Species (CITES), the European 

and Mediterranean Plant Protection 

Organisation (EPPO) and the 

international union for the protection 

of new varieties of plants (UPOV). 

Cooperation with 


The basis of cooperation between 

CIOPORA and AIPH is the 

mutual interest of ensuring strong 

breeders rights worldwide and to 

ensure fair competition among 

countries, producers and breeders. 

Both organisations work on this 

goal from their position’s as observers 

within the UPOV Juridical 

and Administrative Committee 

and the UPOV Council. In these 

activities CIOPORA and AIPH 

differ somewhat in their opinions 

and considerations. But this has 

not been and should not be seen as 

a reason to hamper the interaction 

between these two professional 

organisations, which both serve the 

Platform for exchanging 

knowledge 

The free trade in ornamental 

plant products is still one of the 

spearheads of AIPH and is realised 

via exchange of knowledge and 

experience. The exchanges take 

place during meetings at the ansame 

goal. 

This is to support a fair and good 

working Plant Variety Right system. 

Over the last years, CIOPO- 

RA and AIPH have exchanged their 

points of view on several subjects 

which required attention, from 

both the breeders and the growers’ 

perspective. Both organisations, 

realise that a good working intellectual 

property right system for plant 

propagating material is essential for 

everyone who does business in the 

sector, especially in these complex 

times in which more challenges are 

occurring on important issues like 

free and fair competition (not only 

between countries but also between 

producers and breeders). Coupled 

with an increasing world population 

and less available soil to produce 

food and ornamentals, cooperation 

between organisations like 

CIOPORA and AIPH is crucial. 

Congratulations 

for CIOPORA 

On behalf of AIPH Sjaak 

Langeslag, Secretary General 

AIPH and Mia Buma, Secretary 

AIPH Committee for Novelty 

Protection offer their congratulations 

on the 50th anniversary of 

CIOPORA. “AIPH has a great 

deal of respect and admiration 

for all the input CIOPORA has 

given to the important discussions 

which have been held throughout 

over many years and for 

CIOPORA’s continuing energy to 

request attention to issues raised 

from the breeders point of view, 

for a well-olied, worldwide, Plant 

Breeders Right system. AIPH 

wishes CIOPORA much and sincerely 

hope that it will continue to 

contribute to and to work on this 

very important and continually 

developing field. AIPH is looking 

forward to cooperating with 

CIOPORA over the next 

50 years!” ||| 


RAI 

Royalty 

Administration 

International 

(RAI) provides the 

ultimate tool for 

managing plant 

breeders’ rights and 

royalty collection. 

Founded in 1984 

as a company for 

collecting and 

monitoring royalties 

in Chrysanthemums, 

RAI has grown into 

the leading team 

of specialists that 

knows the sector 

inside out and 

provides world wide 

services for the 

ornamental breeders 

who find themselves 

in a rapidly 

expanding market. 

The ultimate tool for ma 

your plant breeders’ rig 

RAI is an independent full 

service organisation which 

is responsible for applying 

plant breeders’ rights, licensing and 

administration of IP and collecting 

of royalties on behalf of more than 

250 breeders of ornamentals, bulbs, 

fruits and vegetables. “Each year we 

make around 600 PBR applications 

in thirty different countries, including 

paper work and form-filling. 

After approximately one or two 

year, the client will be granted the 

PBR after which we continue to 

represent him for licensing, monitoring 

and collecting royalties,” says 

Maarten Leune, who joined the 

organisation in 2001 as managing 

director and co-owner. 

He adds, “We acquire plenty of 

information and knowledge, knowing 

exactly where to find the right 

people in the right place. However, 

only two staff members are involved 

with PBR applications. These make 

a strong base for our core business; 

service and administration activities, 

which consist in issuing license 

agreements, collecting fees and 

paying the right holders along with 

audits, regular or random checks 

on the spot and monitoring of the 

production and the market.” 

Established breeders 

The clients/breeders hail from different 

parts of the world with the 

US, North West Europe and Japan 

having the highest concentration 

of breeders of cut flowers, bedding 

plants, indoor plants, perennials, 

vegetables, bulbs and fruits. 

According to Leune, RAI is always 

open for collaboration, “Recently 

we’ve been in contact with a small 

group of Japanese breeders looking 

for somebody outside Japan who 

can represent them without immediately 

also claiming the distribution, 

as is usually the case in Japan. 

They were extremely delighted with 

the independency of RAI which 

neither grows, distributes nor sells 

ornamentals.” 

In the high tech world of breeding 

with companies of an established 

reputation, there are seldom newcomers. 

“Will a new breeder have 

any impact on the market?”, Leune 

wonders, “ornamental breeding is 

becoming increasingly high tech 

with a major focus on shortening 

the breeding cycle and the achievement 

of new breeding goals. Are 

newcomers able to be competitive? 

Especially the first couple of years 

it is difficult to survive. However, 

there are some interesting projects 

going on at governmental institutes 

in emerging markets.” 

Valuable assests 

Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR) also 

known as Plant Variety Rights 

(PVR), are valuable assets for the 

world flower business. Maarten 

Leune explains, “It’s all about 

ownership. People should realise 

that a breeder invests an awful lot 

of money in research and development 

and is continuously busy with 

improving his knowledge and skills. 

They also should be aware of the 

fact that over many, many years 

these breeders have been developing 

their own specific genetic material, 

which serves to develop new 

RAI’s managing 

director 

and co-owner 

Maarten Leune 

says, “I wish that 

CIOPORA had 

more members.” 


naging 

hts 

flowers and plants that appeal to 

the people, whether this is a grower, 

buyer or a consumer. Breeders need 

a return on investment by earning 

royalties by licensing their rights 

which in our industry are mainly 

known as plant breeders rights. 

Intellectual property also includes 

trademarks and utility patents. PBR 

encourages creativity while it also 

protects innovation.” 

Plant breeding requires patience 

and can take five, ten or for some 

crops even fifteen years. Petunia, 

for example, can be crossbred much 

faster than a rose or bulb flowers. 

“Speaking from my own experience 

in vegetable seeds and Chrysanthemum 

breeding, I know that huge 

amounts of seedlings are required 

with in the end, only a handful of 

varieties which enter and stay on 

the market as a cash crop.” 

The investments involved are enormous. 

It is often stated that breeding 

costs account for 15 to 25% of 

a company’s turnover. Leune finds 

it difficult to give definite figures. 

”If you start a new breeding programme 

from scratch, it’s extremely 

difficult to back your investments. 

Once you discover a real market 

leader the balance between costs 

and earning can change quickly. 

That’s a problem because when 

starting breeding you have a clear 

focus but it is not always for sure 

that you will succeed in finding a 

bestseller “ 

Royalty percentages 

The royalty percentages vary 

greatly. ”It’s up to the breeder to 

decide who will obtain the license 

to propagate his varieties, in which 

countries and under which conditions. 

Prices are primarily set by 

RAI can rely on a team of specialists that knows the sector inside out 

and provides world wide services for the ornamental breeders. 

market influences. Breeders will 

always look at their competitors to 

determine the royalty percentage 

for novelties. If he is convinced that 

his product is better he’ll opt for 

higher royalties. A lower royalty 

level can be useful to open the 

doors of new markets. Royalties can 

fluctuate, with different levels on 

different continents. In India and 

China, for example, the prices on 

the domestic market are significantly 

lower and it’s impossible to come 

up with royalty levels in accordance 

with the European market. 

However, with the present’s global 

flower industry involving products 

shipped from one continent to 

another, it has become increasingly 

important to have a more or less 

equal royalty level to prevent false 

competition. More recently, the 

prices have levelled out and that’s 

good for the business.” 

Internationalisation 

RAI employs 29 people divided 

over four offices in ‘s-Gravenzande 

(NL, headquarters), Fort Myers 

(USA), Bogota and Tokyo. “In 

1993 we entered into a strategic 

alliance with Yoder USA in North 

and South America allowing us to 

spread our wings overseas. Today, 

RAI offers the client worldwide 

coverage. “Most of our employees 

travel around the world to control 

licensees, non licensees, growers, 

wholesale markets, auctions and 

exhibitions. Here we have the 2 + 

2 = 5 effect. Imagine a shipment of 

cuttings grown in Brazil, transported 

to Holland and exported to 

Italy with the final flowers ending 

on the Moscow market. In such 

cases, RAI has the possibility to 

call its colleagues in South America 

and Europe to check and combine 

the information, allowing better 

control.” 

RAI has a profound knowledge of 

horticulture. “We really understand 

plants, the market and the grower. 

We’ll never enter a greenhouse 

in a suit and tie, having earned a 

reputation as plant connoisseurs. 

Our competitors in the market, 

the lawyers, normally don’t visit 

the grower, and only send letters. 

Moreover, lawyers have an overall 

lack of product and market knowledge.” 

UPOV 

RAI manages royalties under the 

authority of the different UPOV 

(International Convention of the 

Protection of New Plant Varieties) 

acts, which according to Leune, 

need further improvements. “The 

last time UPOV was revised, was 

in 1991 when better protection of 

end products was achieved. UPOV 

currently has 68 member states of 

which 45 have acceded to the 91 

Act. This means that 23 countries 

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RAI 

are still on the 78 Act including 

farmer’s privilege.” 

Leune foresees that a new UPOV 

convention will take a long while as 

it will be time consuming to gather 

all the member states.” Probably 

the best alternative is focusing on 

more national improvements in 

legislation to reach a higher protection 

level. However, the biggest 

challenge to be overcome is to have 

the ‘78’ members accepting the 

91 Convention. That would be a 

important step forward.” 

Easier said than done 

While the examinations and audits 

are adversarial by nature, the RAI 

team of experienced professionals 

perform them in a discreet and 

calm manner. “We always have 

to be very careful. We are only 

human, like anyone else and can 

make mistakes but one of our top 

priorities is to exclude them by a 

well-prepared and structural approach”, 

says Leune. 

He continues, “We’re tracing back 

in continuation asking ourselves 

where the product is sourced from. 

This is not an easy job since you 

have to deal with mother stock 

plants and cuttings without flowers. 

When visiting the grower, we ask 

him the name of his supplier. If he 

is not willing to cooperate and gets 

angry, the alarm bells start ringing.” 

The transparency of the market 

makes the job easier. “In Holland 

it’s easy; if you want to know which 

variety is grown by which grower 

you just go to the auction and you’ll 

have all the information. But in 

countries such as Colombia, you 

need other tools, more creativity 

and a better network. In the end, 

we always find a solution. “Like in 

Colombia where we were denied access 

to the greenhouse. We looked 

for the final export destination 

of the flowers which was Miami. 

Having our own staff on both 

continents, it was quite easy to go 

to customs and to seize the counterfeited 

flowers.” 

Percentage of counterfeited 

ornamental 

It is often stated that around 5 

to 9% of international trade is 

accounted for by counterfeited 

ornamentals (Source: FCI). “From 

research two years ago in the 

USA based on local company 

visits, involving checks on the 

correct naming of varieties, correct 

labelling, illegal propagation and 

underreporting, we were running 

to 17 to 18% of our visits which 

were incorrect,” speaks Leune from 

his own experience. He adds, “This 

percentage varies depending on 

which countries and crops.” 

When asked about the tools to avoid 

‘green piracy’, Leune says he and his 

team are rather determined in their 

search for justice.”I agree, I never 

heard from cases in which a grower 

ended up in prison, though in some 

cases this would be possible. Also 

remind that the amount of piracy 

money is impressive. As soon as we 

find an infringement we get back to 

the breeder to propose different steps 

of action. This can be a personal 

visit to confront the grower with the 

situation followed by a legal letter. 

An accountancy control, official 

inspection, product seizure or court 

case are also possible. When asked if 

the RAI team enters the greenhouse 

door without knocking, Leune said. 

“We always stay friendly and explain 

the situation and then it depends of 

how the licensee reacts. If he kicks 

us out, you can guarantee that we 

will be back. Why should we use 

any violence, if we can opt for legal 

power instead. In that case we can 

rely upon our international network 

of lawyers.” 


Time now for a more festive mood 

with CIOPORA celebrating its 

golden jubilee this year. Leune offers 

his congratulations, “CIOPO- 

RA has meant a lot for the industry 

as a whole. It’s a lobby organisation 

approaching governmental 

people all over the world. As soon 

there is a renewal of national PBR 

legislation, CIOPORA tries to 

get involved and influence the law 

text. CIOPORA was involved in 

the first 1961 UPOV convention 

bringing in big influence. At the 

new conventions in 1978 and 1991 

it was again CIOPORA which 

strongly involved in observation, 

changes and adjustments of the 

law text.” 

Leune describes CIOPORA as 

a very active organisation. “It 

has 123 members, however the 

world is big with many countries 

and many things occurring. This 

makes it not always easy to fully 

cover all events and activities. Lobbying 

is very time consuming and 

you always have to set priorities. 

CIOPORA is always present at 

UPOV meetings as an observer. 

Throughout its network, members 

are able to hear what are the latest 

developments in legislation.” 

More members 

CIOPORA offers good value for 

money, ensures Leune, “Lobby 

work always remains difficult 

to measure. The value of your 

money is not only the pure lobbying, 

CIOPORA is an important 

platform for discussion and the 

exchange of new ideas between 

stakeholders. The next best opportunity 

to meet industry professionals 

is CIOPORA’s annual meeting 

which is set to take place in Rome 

in the beginning of April. People 

should also know that CIOPORA 

comprises different working groups 

with focuses on biodiversity, PBR 

matters (EDV’s, DUS, minimum 

distances between varieties, technical 

guidelines, DNA fingerprinting), 

infringements and crop 

sections. Personally I have been 

involved in CIOPORA since 1996. 

From 1999 to 2005, I was president 

of CIOPORA.” 

Leune concludes, “I wish that 

CIOPORA had more members. 

More breeders should realise the 

good work this organisation has 

done and is currently doing. The 

more breeders, the stronger the 

voice of the sector, the more we can 

achieve.” ||| 


VONDST 

Advocaten 

congratulates 

CIOPORA on 

its 50th 

anniversary! 

The same 

in green? 

www.vondst-law.com 

Your innovation. 

Our passion. 

advocaten 

advocaten 

Vondst 

Vondst is a compact specialized law firm 

based in Amsterdam that deals exclusively 

with intellectual property law, ICT, 

pharmaceuticals & life sciences. 

Vondst knows IP 

Patents and technology, plant variety 

rights, trademarks, copyrights and product 

design. 

Vondst knows Horticulture 

We represent and assist a wide range of 

clients within the horticultural and agricultural 

sector including flower and seed 

breeders, growers, packaging companies 

and machine manufacturers. Our firm is a 

member of Plantum NL and CIOPORA. 

Vondst knows Plant 

Variety Rights 

We assist in maintaining, exploiting 

and enforcing PVRs in and outside the 

EU. We have extensive experience in 

litigation concerning the enforcement 

of PVRs, including cases involving 

essentially derived varieties (EDVs). 

We also advise and litigate about the 

granting of Dutch and Community 

PVRs, questions of variety naming and 

licensing issues. 

Find out more? 

Visit www.vondst-law.com or call 

+31 (0)20 5042000 and ask for 

Tjeerd Overdijk or Hidde Koenraad.

Fides 

Netherlandsbased 

Fides, a 

leading breeder 

and propagator 

of cut and pot 

Chrysanthemums, 

Kalanchoe, 

decorative 

Kalanchoe 

(Calandiva®), 

Pelargonium, 

Osteospermum, 

Impatiens New 

Guinea, pot 

Dahlia, Multiflora, 

Petunia, Nemesia, 

Calibrachoa 

and pot Aster, 

considers licenses 

and intellectual 

property control as 

valuable assets to 

protect its products 

and brands 

worldwide. 

Calandiva is backed by an impressive 

Number One campaign. 

Fides thinks 

global and 

acts local 

Fides is part of the Agribio 

Group, one of the world’s 

leading breeders in horticulture, 

offering their customers a 

wide range of cut flowers, pot and 

bedding plants. The breeding of 

Fides takes place in The Netherlands, 

Denmark, Japan, Spain and 

the United Kingdom. The products 

are propagated under the most 

ideal conditions by own companies 

in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and 

Costa Rica. 

High market value 

The company has the ambition to 

be innovative and inspiring, with 

products offering high market 

value and profitability to all chain 

partners. Therefore, Fides has 

an eye on market developments 

worldwide. In doing so, Fides 

thinks globally, but acts locally. 

Fides serves more than 750 customers 

in over 45 countries in the 

world with cuttings and marketing 

support as well. Marketing is 

Beautiful double 

flowered Calandiva 

one of the key words at Fides. This 

is anchored in their market view 

and is showed in their breeding 

results and brand development. 

Their breeding is tuned to 

demands from all distribution 

channels in the chain. 

Calandiva 

Their brands are developed to 

transfer this additional value to 

the grower. A good example is the 

Number One campaign for the 

well-known brand Calandiva®, 

regarded as the best decorative 

Kalanchoe available to all partners 

in the supply chain. This is supported 

by an extensive Customer 

Relationship Management 

programme to enhance relationships 

with clients and new brand 

development to create sustainable 

competitive advantage. 

Horti Alliance 

As an international member of the 

horticulture industry, Fides seeks 

Focco Prins, license manager at Fides. 

close partnerships with all partners 

in the supply chain, embracing the 

importance of long term profitability 

for all these partners. The 

current innovation platform Horti 

Alliance started in January 2011. 

In this alliance, 19 leading companies 

cooperate in order to serve 

customers in the Dutch horticultural 

sector. 

Win-win situation 

In the international industry in 

which Fides operates, license and 

intellectual property control are 

important issues. Focco Prins, 

license manager at Fides, “To 

me, it’s important that the issue 

of intellectual property rights is 

well reflected in a license contract. 

Together with a close relation with 

the customer, this creates a winwin 

situation in the market.” 

Prins’ main task is to monitor the 

protection of the Fides products 

worldwide. This is also the case 

concerning the brands Fides 

owns. He adds, “In this respect, 

CIOPORA is the international 

community platform to talk about 

the interests of breeders.” 

Big contribution 

Prins highlights the way CIOPO- 

RA represents the legitimate 

interests of Fides. “I think this kind 

of central overview by one main 

organisation leads into more power. 

CIOPORA has realised a big contribution 

for the long term for the 

total ornamental plant world in the 

last 50 years. Celebrating 50 years is 

at the same time setting goals for a 

flowering future!” ||| 


Danziger 

Danziger “Dan” 

Flower Farm is 

one of Israel’s 

leading floriculture 

companies, 

recognised for 

constant innovation 

and quality in 

breeding, production 

and marketing of 

varieties for cut 

flowers and bedding 

plants. Danziger 

produces young 

plants and cuttings 

for the local market 

and for more than 60 

countries all over the 

world. The company 

employs 240 

people, producing 

and selling more 

than 120 million 

vegetatively 

propagated cuttings 

per year of more 

than 400 varieties. 

As a leading breeder in the 

ornamentals' field (Gypsohila varieties, 

between the well-known 

variety Million Stars®), Danziger 

attaches importance to the entire 

matter of protecting intellectual 

property. 

Danziger: always 

one step ahead 

Danziger’s state-of-the-art 

tissue culture lab produces 

virus-indexed material, 

both for its own stock production 

as well as for export. The laboratory 

uses the most current technology, 

including genetic engineering, and 

performs research in cooperation 

with the Hebrew 

University. “Service without compromise” 

is another motto that the 

Danziger family has adopted. Danziger 

staff certainly goes the extra 

mile to accommodate customers’ 

wishes and to cater to the different 

market demands of the many 

countries they do business with. 

Plant Breeder's Rights 

The company has gained vast 

knowledge and experience in all 

fields related to intellectual property 

matters: 

• Registration of patents and 

breeders rights 

• Registration of trade marks 

• Representation of other breeders 

- production, marketing, sales 

and distribution of varieties 

• Granting licenses through agreements 

to grow, market, distribute 

and propagate 

• Supervision 

• Royalty administration 

• Legal consulting and taking 

actions against violations of 

intellectual property 

As a leading breeder in the ornamentals' 

field (Gypsohila varieties, 

between the well-known variety 

Million Stars®), Danziger attaches 

importance to the entire matter of 

protecting intellectual property in 

general, and its assets in particular. 

Danziger has even, having no 

other alternative, led some very 

important legal procedures and 

precedents in the matter of breeders' 

rights, and specifically in 

the matter of essentially derived 

varieties (EDV). Danziger invests 

many resources in protecting its 

rights and its licensed growers' 

rights. 

As a member of the international 

breeders' organisation CIOPORA 

for many years, Danziger acts in 

cooperation with CIOPORA, and 

with other breeders in the world 

in order to increase awareness and 

perception of intellectual property 

rights in the entire industry. 

Working closely with the professional 

and dedicated team of 

CIOPORA, Danziger, as many 

other breeders in the industry, 

believes that honoring and protecting 

intellectual property rights 

does not only concern breeders 

but also the international trade. 

Effective IPR 

The industry as a whole has a clear 

economical interest in effective protection 

of intellectual property rights and 

their enforcement. The entire trade 

shall benefit from the entrance of new, 

improved, advanced and innovative 

varieties that addresses the ever 

changing needs of the customer (i.e.: 

shape, color, scent, taste and shelf-life) 

and the growers' necessities (resistances 

such as susceptibility to pests, tolerance 

to various weather conditions, etc.). 

New varieties are a source for growth 

and increment of profits, they offer 

a wider choice to the customers and 

to the entire industry, create new 

and bigger demand, and usually 

stimulate higher market value. 

Danziger's main ambition as a 

breeder is to constantly create 

innovative and improved varieties. 

Doing so, requires a huge investment 

in advanced technologies, 

time, economic resources, working 

force and know-how. Royalties 

and license fees paid to the breeder 

are not only a way to return the 

breeder's investment, but also an 

assurance to the entire trade to keep 

investing in breeding and creating 

more interesting and beautiful 

novelties for our industry. ||| 

Danziger's main 

ambition as a 

breeder is to 

constantly create 

innovative and improved 

varieties. 


Birthday greetings 

CIOPORA Germany & Union Fleurs 

offers warm congratulations 

The importance of national plant breeders’ rights diminishes in favor of European and 

world wide accepted titles and patents. 

To protect the intellectual property rights of plant breeders in this situation, a competent 

and strong organisation is a prerequisite. In the past 50 years CIOPORA worked hard to 

meet these expectations and achieved remarkable results and success. 

The 58 members of CIOPORA Germany, that celebrated its 25th anniversary only 

some weeks ago, congratulate her ‘Mother CIOPORA’ by expressing a warm-hearted 

"Thank you!!!" 

We as CIOPORA Germany received a lot of understanding and helpful promotion and 

hope that CIOPORA will continue to spend us these excellent benefits. As ‘children’ we 

promise to proceed being an open minded and confident clientele. 

We do hope that in the future the very open discussion of our particular national affairs 

and interest will meet the same understanding and support of the mother as in the past. 

With this in mind we wish an encouraging celebration of the 50th anniversary and all 

the best for the next 50 years to come. 

Friederike von Rundstedt 

Chairwoman of CIOPORA Germany 

CIOPORA Deutschland e.V. 

Gemeinschaft der Züchter vegetativ vermehrbarer Zier- und Obstpflanzen 

As we look back on the past fifty years of horticulture business we can see 

one clear and strong development, and that is the internationalization of our 

industry. 

Flowers are produced and consumed in ever more countries, and as a consequence, 

trade between those countries increases. Our purpose as Union Fleurs 

is to represent and promote the worldwide interests of the horticulture industry 

and foster free trade to increase the size of the pie. One of the cornerstones of free 

trade is a strong, well functioning intellectual property system to protect breeders, 

growers, traders and ultimately the consumer. As we include ever more countries 

in the global trade of flowers, it falls upon CIOPORA, among others to promote strong IP legislation 

and legal follow-through in new producer and consumer countries. 

We, as an industry, need to support this effort in several constructive ways, and inform about 

what intellectual property rights are and how they should be complied with. We should use all 

communication means necessary to inform about piracy, and to assist producers to comply with 

regulations. One idea would be to launch a “White Certificate” for producers and traders to show 

that they comply fully with breeders rights, royalty payments and so forth. This 

would indicate clearly to the whole chain of distribution who is supporting the 

development of our industry and who is not. The label could be displayed on websites, 

emails, boxes, and so on, to show that a company is in full compliance. This 

could be a step in the right direction in assisting CIOPORA in their worthy task of 

promoting IP rights in old and new markets. 

We, as Union Fleurs, congratulate CIOPORA on their fiftieth anniversary and 

wish for another fifty years with strengthened breeders rights 

John Nevado 

Board member Union Fleurs

Selecta Klemm 

This year CIOPORA 

celebrates 50 years 

of commitment 

protecting 

Intellectual 

Property Rights 

for breeders. For 

the Selecta Group 

- as a world leading 

breeder, producer 

and marketer 

of vegetatively 

propagated 

ornamental 

plants based in 

Stuttgart, Germany 

– CIOPORA’s work 

in defending the 


of breeders is 

essential. 

Selecta applauds 


commitment 

Selecta considers professional 

breeding as an important 

investment into the future. 

These extensive breeding investments 

can only be justified if breeders 

are granted a comprehensive 

and long-lasting protection for their 

novelties. The history of Selecta 

shows many successful breeding 

achievements, protected by over 

800 PBR titles worldwide. 

Double flowered 

Calibrachoa 

In 2006 the company’s research 

and development team succeeded 

in developing methods for breeding 

Calibrachoa plants with double 

flowers. Selecta could enter the 

market with MiniFamous® Double 

Pink – the world’s first double 

flowering Calibrachoa variety. The 

genus Calibrachoa is a very close 

relative of the genus Petunia. While 

the double flower trait had already 

been established in Petunia, no 

double flowering Calibrachoa types 

had been discovered by then. 

Selecta's breeding team of Dr. 

Andrea Dohm started from an 

interspecific cross which resulted 

in a hybrid plant showing some 

flowers with a tiny additional petal. 

By using biotechnical methods 

within a 10 year lasting breeding 

project these prototypes could be 

developed into commercial varieties 

exhibiting complete and attractive 

double flowers. This breeding 

success was honoured with the 

American “Award of Excellence” 

in 2006 and the approval for the 

US utility patent in 2010. Today 

Selecta offers a colourful assortment 

of double flowering varieties. 

The double flowering Calibrachoa 

varieties MiniFamous® Double 

Lemon, MiniFamous® Double 

Pink and MiniFamous® Double 

Amethyst are now also used for 

Per Klemm, chief operating officer at Selecta Klemm 

and vice president of CIOPORA. 


the Calibrachoa colour mix Trixi® 

Petticoat which was awarded 

“Balcony Plant of the Year 2010” in 

Burgenland, Austria and “Bedding 

and Balcony Plant 2011” in various 

German states. 

Osteospermum 

FlowerPower® Double 

In 2010 it was already for the 

second time that Selecta was able 

to introduce to the world a sensation 

in breeding: Osteospermum 

with double flowers. Unlike other 

Asteraceae flowers the Osteospermum 

was only available as a normal 

flowering plant. Over the past years 

Selecta has done intensive research 

work to induce a mutation for an 

altered flower phenotype. After 

detection of a first Osteospermum 

plant with some altered flowers, a 

remarkable breeding effort - including 

the help of molecular analysis 

- was necessary until the first 

varieties with perfect altered flowers 

and in different colours were available. 

Hence, Selecta is proud to 

be the only breeder worldwide to 

offer a complete Osteospermum 

series in basic colours, a wide range 

of special colours and with double 

flowers - the FlowerPower® line. 

Growers and retailers are given the 

possibility to offer varieties with a 

unique selling proposition. All varieties 

of the FlowerPower® Double 

line have the same growth habit like 

the single flowering. Varieties with 

double flowers are extremely early, 

keep longer in the field compared 

to single flowering plants and stay 

open even under low light conditions. 

Taspo Award 

Consequently, double flowering 

plants are on the same technical 

status concerning the growth habit 

as single flowering and even exceed 

them in flower quality. Being awarded 

as “Breeder of the Year” with the 

Rabensteiner Award at the Taspo 

Awards 2010 for breeding double 

flowering Osteospermum is not only 

a recognition for Selecta’s breeding 

work but also an incentive for the 

whole industry to keep on working 

on innovative developments. 

“’Creating the future’ - this 

slogan is our inspiration to develop 

top quality products and world 

novelties for producers, retailers 

and consumers. CIOPORA supports 

this vision and our breeding 

efforts with their representation 

of interests”, stated Per Klemm, 

Chief Operating Officer of Selecta 

Klemm GmbH & Co. KG. and 

Vice President of CIOPORA. 

“Therefore CIOPORA is one of 

the most important instruments 

in facilitating the development of 

a legal framework which is key to 

develop a sound economical basis 

for innovation within our industry 

helping thereby the stakeholders 

adding value throughout the 

supply chain.” ||| 

Osteospermum 

FlowerPower® 

Double Silver. 

Calibrachoa 

MiniFamous® 

Double Yellow 

and Double 

Amethyst. 

Osteospermum FlowerPower® Double White. 

Calibrachoa 

MiniFamous® 

Double Pink. 


China 

On June 5th 

2008, the Chinese 

government released 

the National 

Strategy for 


Rights (IPR), in 

which, for the first 

time, Plant Variety 

Rights (PVR) have 

been upgraded to a 

similar position as 

patents, trademarks 

and copyrights. 

Dr. Yu (right) and his PBR partner. 

China deploys national 

strategy for IPR 

by Dr. Shuyun Yu 

In 1997, China legislated the 

PVP law as Regulations of the 

People’s Republic of China on 

the Protection of New Varieties of 

Plants to comply with the 1978 Act 

of the UPOV convention, to which 

China became the 39th member 

state on April 23rd 1999. Revision 

of the regulations will soon start 

in order to match some definitions 

of the UPOV 1991 Convention. 

According to China’s situation and 

condition of state, it is assumed that 

China will not join the UPOV Convention 

1991 in the near future. 

Revised rules 

On 1st January 2008, China started 

the implementation of revised rules of 

PVP Regulations for the agricultural 

sector, with exception for forest trees, 

shrubs, and woody ornamentals, such 

as: roses, Azaleas, Poinsettias and tree 

peonies. In these rules the definition 

of novelty, i.e. the first sale of candidate 

variety of plants, was limited to 

stringent conditions. 

Renewed judicial interpretation 

On February 1st 2007, the Chinese 

Supreme Court started a renewed 

judicial interpretation in which 

the evidence to be preserved of an 

alleged infringement was specified 

and the penalty was intensified to 

make the professional PBR lawsuits 

more operable and practicable. 

PBR plantlist 

The updated 8th batch list of 

protectable agricultural plants was 

released on 18th January, 2010 by 

the Chinese MOA. So far, a total 

of 158 genera or species are on the 

national lists of PBR protection. 

Yunnan Province 

The local legislator of Yunnan province 

has formulated local Regulations 

on PVP, which complement 

the national Chinese system of PBR 

protection 

1, For all horticultural crops, both 

the national PBR protection and 

Yunnan provincial PBR registration 

could be applied for. 

2, Regarding the farmer's privilege, 

the Yunnan local PBR regulation 

contains the same rules 

and effects as the national PVP 

regulation. 

3, The local application procedure 

should be much easier and faster 

than an application for a Chinese 

national PBR. 

4, The local protection would be 

effective from the registration 

date. The duration of protection 

in Yunnan would be 10 years for 

woody plants and 5 years for the 

other varieties respectively since 

the registration date. 

5, For the PBR granted varieties in 

any UPOV member states, but 

not granted PBR yet in China, 

while registered in Yunnan, the 

local government would offer 

protection for the same period as 

the country in which PBR originally 

has been granted for. 

Administrative 

enforcement 

MOA has executed pilot activities 

regarding PVP law enforcement 

in more than 22 provinces and 

municipalities to explore the effective 

pattern for law enforcement 

in PBR, esp. for agricultural crops, 

such as corn, rice, wheat, cotton. 

Consequently, various actions 

against infringement upon PBR 

have been effectively carried out, 

the legal rights and commercial 

interests of the plant breeders from 

home and abroad protected and 

the civil investment in breeding 

mobilised. 

Court enforcement 

According to www.ipr.chinacourt. 

org, from January 2008 until January 

2011 about 400 PBR lawsuit 

cases were instituted at different 

provincial or city’s courts all 

around China. The main crops are 

corn, rice and some other typical 

lawsuits involve fruit and ornamental 

crops. There were two similar 

PBR lawsuits conducted in Beijing 

and Fujian province in 2010. The 

tree peony variety ‘Aoshuang’ was 

originally found and bred by a 

local farmer, as individual breeder 

in Shandong province, but Beijing 

Forestry University as the partner, 

made an embezzlement of the 

PVR. For a citrus variety there 

was a similar situation in Fujian 

province where it was encroached 

by Fruit Tree Institute in Fujian 

Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 

but the actual breeder was a fruit 

farmer. Finally, after ruling of the 

court, the individual breeders won 

back their plant breeder’s rights. ||| 


S.B. Talee 

S.B. Talee, a leading 

breeder, propagator 

and grower of 

carnations, is very 

honored to be 

part of CIOPORA’s 


celebrations, 

recognising the 

importance of 

the worldwide 

association of 

plant breeders as 

the most relevant 

mechanism to 

protect breeders’ 

rights. 

S.B. Talee - 

CIOPORA: 

A blooming bond 

S.B. Talee was established in 

Tuscany - Italy in 1962 by Duke 

Forese Salviati and Mr. Palle 

Bruun. In its early years, the company 

was dedicated to the research and development 

of new varieties of standard 

carnations and spray carnations, 

and to the sales of mother plants and 

production cuttings. 

In 1979, due to the importance of 

the Colombian carnation industry 

as the world’s principal carnation 

exporter, Mr. Salviati decided to 

establish a carnation propagation 

facility in Colombia. A carnation 

Headquarters S.B. Talee in the Sabana region of Bogotá. 

The quality programme incorporates strict controls. 

breeding program was begun in 

Colombia in 1998, in order to develop 

varieties adapted to the local 

growing conditions. 

Premium quality 

The programme incorporates strict 

controls, the evaluation of agricultural, 

physiological, sanitary, and esthetic 

qualities of the cultivars. It takes 

4 years for a variety, when finally 

selected, to be sold as mother plants, 

commercial cuttings or cut flowers. 

In addition to the varieties produced 

by its breeding program 

S.B. Talee represents the most 

prestigious carnation breeders in the 

world, such as: Giacomo Nobbio, 

Flavio Costanzo Sapia, Flavio Sapia 

(Hybrida), the Baratta family (La 

Villetta), Carlo Moraglia and Fernando 

Lanari, who collaborate with 

S.B. Talee with important cultivars 

to broaden the S.B. Talee product 

line, thus enriching the catalogue. 

The propagation facilities are 

located in an area isolated from 

other carnation production farms 

in the Sabana of Bogotá, guaranteeing 

the optimum sanitary quality 

of the plant material. Quality and 

uniformity is a key objective of 

the company which has a rigorous 

quality control program in order 

to ensure that the cuttings meet 

the highest quality standards of the 

industry. S.B. Talee de Colombia 

S.A. has 24 hectares of standard 

and spray carnations, dedicated to 

meet the demands of cut flowers 

from customers worldwide. 

Congratulations 

S.B.Talee endorses the importance 

of CIOPORA protecting 

and enforcing the rights of plant 

breeders. S.B. Talee is very honored 

to be part of CIOPORA’s 50th anniversary 

celebrations, recognising 

the importance of the worldwide 

association of plant breeders as the 

most relevant mechanism to protect 

breeders’ rights. Breeders and 

propagators of consistently better 

varieties to enrich the international 

ornamental industry. ||| 


IRBA 

Several crop 

sections exist 

within CIOPORA, 

they group 

members with a 

special interest in 

the respective crop, 

thus providing 

a platform for 

exchanging, 

specifically 

crop-related, 

information. In 

cut roses, the 

cooperation 

between the 

International 

Rose Breeders’ 

Association (IRBA) 

and CIOPORA, 

officially known 

as the CIOPOR- 

IRBA Cut Rose 

Crop Section, has 

afforded closer 

ties for both 

organisations 

resulting in 

more productive 

collaboration on 

important PBR 

issues. 

IRBA president Omer Schneider. 

CIOPORA helps 

IP owners protect 

their rose varieties 

International Rose Breeders’ 

Association (IRBA) was first 

organised in October 1989, 

during a gathering of cut rose 

breeders attending the International 

Floriculture Trade Show at the 

Aalsmeer Auction. This meeting 

was organised by Mr. Peter Ilsink, 

Interplant Roses B.V. to discuss a 

new organisation expressly devoted 

to protecting PBR of cut rose varieties/creations 

around the world. 

After an unanimous go-ahead was 

given, statutes were developed that 

outlined the purpose of this new 

association to unite the international 

breeders of new varieties 

of cut roses, in order to facilitate 

the mutual exchange of ideas and 

experiences and to contribute to the 

advancement of their lawful common 

interests. 

Meetings 

Today, meetings are held on a 

biannual basis, in the early spring 

during the Annual General Meeting 

of CIOPORA and again in the 

autumn during the trade exhibitions 

in the Netherlands (Horti Fair 

or IFTF). Mr. Peter Ilsink, Interplant 

Roses B.V. became the first 

president, followed by Mr. Omer 

Schneider, Jackson & Perkins, then 

John Dolan, E.G. Hill and since 

2002, Mr. Omer Schneider. At each 

meeting, members share information 

regarding problems, accomplishments 

and any PBR activities 

in emerging floriculture countries 

from around the world including 

China, Russia, Ethiopia, India and 

Brazil. 

Priority countries 

Colombia and Ecuador became 

priority countries for IRBA to 

focus on because neither country 

had PBR protection and illegal 

propagation of protected varieties 

was a BIG problem. Through 

assistance from CIOPORA’s Mr. 

Rene Royon and action taken by 

IRBA, after three years of activity 

IRBA finally was able to amend the 

Andean Pact and obtain legal PBR 

rights in these two countries. A 

significant accomplishment. IRBA 

also assisted in amending the U.S. 

patent law that only protected the 

plant, to add “and parts there of”, 

which gave better recourse on illegal 

flowers exported from Colombia 

and Ecuador to the US. 

Anti-infringement 

activities 

Anti-infringement activities are 

a continuous and very important 

priority of the IRBA membership. 

The largest customs seizure of flowers 

infringing intellectual property 

rights took place in the run up to 

Valentine’s Day 2008, when on 

application of fifteen leading 

cut rose breeding companies from 

all over the world, customs authorities 

at six major airports in the European 

Union determined whether 

imported cut roses infringed the 

intellectual property rights of theses 

breeders. 

EDV 

Another important milestone was 

regarding EDV (Essentially Derived 

Varieties). After a couple of years 

of discussion, IRBA, during their 

Seville, Spain meeting on March 2, 

2010, established appropriate EDV 

characteristics and thresholds for 

cut roses, which was unanimously 

approved by the CIOPORA Board 

at their San Remo, Italy, meeting 

held on July 5 2010. 


During IRBA’s early years as an 

Var. Meikatana "SAMOURAI" (©MEILLAND 

Photo: DOUBLE M PRODUCTION). 

international association, IRBA 

frequently worked and collaborated 

with CIOPORA on many PBR cut 

rose issues that negatively impacted 

the industry. Many thanks goes to 

Mr. Rene Royon for his help and 

support and the associated rose 

breeders would also like to thank 

Dr. Edgar Krieger, the current 

Secretary General for his guidance, 

assistance and tireless work in helping 

all IP owners to protect their 

varieties. 

Thanks to the close relationship 

with CIOPORA, it was decided 

during a meeting in Nice, France 

on April 28, 2005, that IRBA 

would become a crop section of 


Today, the organisation is known 

as CIOPOR-IRBA Cut Rose Crop 

Section. This relationship has afforded 

closer ties for both organisations 

resulting in more productive 

collaboration on important PBR 

issues. To attend a meeting of this 

Crop Section, you must be a breeder 

of cut roses and be a member in 

good standing of CIOPORA. If 

you have any questions regarding 

participation in our Crop Section 

please contact the Chairman, Omer 

Schneider. ||| 


EUCARPIA 

Breeders rights 

are a good 

stimulus for global 

improvement of 

varieties in various 

cultivated crops. 

Another basis for 

plant breeding 

are the inventions 

that continuously 

develop at both the 

technological and 

the biological level. 

by Evert Jacobsen and 

Zoltán Bedö* 

PBR: Invaluable asset 

in plant breeding 

Inventions are radically new 

ideas and technologies that 

promote change. In the past, 

such inventions were free available 

for plant breeding, fixed in new 

varieties and after release freely 

available as a crossing parent. This 

so-called open innovation system 

has guaranteed the quick implementation 

of important inventions 

within crops. 

All changed since the 1980 Bayh- 

Dole Act which stipulated that 

universities could patent inventions 

and make available exclusively 

to individual companies. 

The rise of biotechnology 

This change coincided with the 

rise of biotechnology leading to 

gene cloning, genetic transformation, 

marker-assisted breeding and 

whole genome sequencing, in all 

important crops. Biotechnology 

needed new regulations, such as 

the GMO Directive 2001/18/ 

EC in Europe. Because of this 

the linear model of innovation 

via basic, strategic and applied 

research was replaced by nonlinear, 

more complex, innovation 

steps, involving also society 

members such as NGO’s. Besides 

the hardware (technical) elements of 

innovations, orgware (institutional 

conditions) and software (new 

skills, tacit knowledge) elements are 

important. 

This means that in new varieties, 

protected by Plant Breeders Rights 

(PBR), patented traits increasingly 

will play a role. 

Impasse 

There is the claim that varieties 

with patented individual traits 

are not freely available as crossing 

parent for other breeders. Last year, 

in the Netherlands, this problem 

was put on the political agenda by 

arguing that PBR stands over the 

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). 

The free availability of protected 

properties for breeding is, therefore, 

advocated. 

An interesting new ruling has 

recently been made in the United 

States, which stipulates that natural 

genes are not an invention and not 

patentable. 

Open innovation 

Generally, it may be said that in 

life sciences both IPR and PBR 

are stimulating innovation. The 

question to be answered is whether 

this is also the case in the agricultural 

life sciences, where PBR in 

Europe has set the tone. These new 

developments will have an effect on 

the agro biodiversity and on world 

food security. 

* European Association for Research 

on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA). 

Present Address: Agricultural 

Research Institute of the Hungarian 

Academy of Sciences, Martonvásár, 

Hungary. 

Zoltán Bedö, President of EUCARPIA 

EUCARPIA greets CIOPORA 

The European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA) and 

the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental 

and Fruit Plants (CIOPORA) are both organisations which serve the interests of 

plant breeding. 

Never before in the history of plant breeding has there been such a major 

change in attitudes and methodology as we are witnessing during the last 

fifty years. All the scientists and breeders in the eleven scientific sections of 

EUCARPIA, including breeders in the Ornamentals section, wish the CIOPORA 

breeding community a successful future in which open innovation, cooperation 

and competition will remain optimal in plant breeding. 

Evert Jacobsen. 

Scientific Secretary 

of EUCARPIA 


50617 Wuesthoff-Logo 10.11.2005 9:10 Uhr Seite 1 

CIOPORA Members 

MATTHEWS NURSERIES 

NEW HORIZON ORCHIDS 

OS International 

PROCOVAMI 

ROYON CONSULT 

Royal Berries S.L. 

STRATTON BELEW PLLC 

SUNNY GRONNEGYDEN ApS 

La Villetta Srl 

advocaten 

Beijing Hengda 

Ciopora Suppporters 

CIOPORA encourages the pursuit of joint activities 

in areas of mutual interest with its so-called 

supporters. Contrary to the CIOPORA members, 

a CIOPORA Supporter doesn’t represent a breeding 

company or law firm but can be, for example, a 

grower, a propagator, or a supplier of software. 

CIOPORA’s current Supporters are: Distel 

Software, André Briant and Nevado Roses. 


March 2011 • www.ciopora.org 

The business magazine for horticultural plant breeding 

Colofon 

The CIOPORA Chronicle is a special edition of 

CIOPORA and the monthly business magazine on 

worldwide floriculture FloraCulture International. All 

rights reserved © 2011. No portion of editorial may be 

reproduced in any form without written permission of 

the publisher. Publisher is not liable for advertisements 

using illegally obtained images. 

Editorial & Administration Offices 

FloraCulture International B.V. 

Vondelstraat 162, 1054 GV Amsterdam, the Netherlands 

T (31) 20 618 2 666 F (31) 20 618 1 333 

Editor-in-chief: Ron van der Ploeg (ron@floracultureinternational.com) with the 

kind assistance of Dr. Edgar Krieger (edgar.krieger@ciopora.org). 

Contributing writers: Prof. Zoltán Bedő, Marcel Bruins, Mia Buma, Peter 

Button, Szonja Csörgo, Bruno Etavard, Lars Henriksen, Prof. Evert Jacobsen, 

Philippe de Jong, Bart Kiewiet, Nils Klemm, Dr. Edgar Krieger, Sjaak Langeslag, 

Thomas Leidereiter, Maarten Leune, John Nevado, Tjeerd Overdijk, Dr. Jan de 

Riek, Friederike von Rundstedt, Omer Schneider, Dominque Thévenon, 

Dr. Shujun Yu 

Photography: FloraCulture International and CIOPORA 

Cover photograph: Bianca Fenne (with special thanks to Fides) 

Publisher: FloraCulture International B.V. (jaap@floracultureinternational.com) 

Printer: Habo DaCosta 

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50 years 

protecting Intellectual 

Property Rights for breeders! 


page18 UPOV valuable input 

Plant Breeder’s Right: 

page 26 Quo Vadis? 

CIOPORA Members & Supporters 

BECOME A MEMBER OF CIOPORA 

CIOPORA is an international, non-governmental organisation, representing 

the interests of breeders of asexually reproduced ornamental and fruit 

varieties worldwide. The organization has currently 123 members among 

which individual breeders, breeding companies, lawyers and royalty administration 

services. Top priority of CIOPORA is the constant development 

of systems of protection which both, international state organisations and 

single states, have provided for the protection of the intellectual property 

concerning ornamental and fruit plants. CIOPORA acts as a strong voice 

to governments on behalf of the industry. The board invites you to join 

CIOPORA. Membership is open to anyone breeding vegetatively reproduced 

ornamental and fruit varieties or having an interest in IP-Protection for 

such crops. However, each candidacy is subject to the CIOPORA Board's 

approval.To become a member email to info@ciopora.org or fax 

to +49 40 555 63 703 

HOW TO BECOME A SUPPORTER 

You are a natural person or company prepared to support and foster the 

objectives, purposes and policy of the association, but do not fulfil the 

requirements for membership in CIOPORA? Please contact CIOPORA at 

the address as featured on this page. 

CIOPORA’s current Supporters are: Distel Software, André Briant and 

Nevado Roses. 

Contact details 

For further information about 

CIOPORA please contact 

the administrative office in 

Hamburg. 


P.O. Box 13 05 06 

D-20105 HAMBURG 

GERMANY 

T + 49 (0) 40 555 63 702 

F + 49 (0) 40 555 63 703 

www.ciopora.org 

info@ciopora.org 

Advertising Index 

COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE 

Altius Advocaten .............................................................16 ....................................... www.altius.com 

Anthony Tesselaar Plants..............................................10 ................................www.tesselaar.com 

CIOPORA ..............................................................................2 .....................................www.ciopora.org 

Danziger “Dan” Flower Farm .......................................22 ..................................www.danziger.co.il 

Fides ....................................................................................40 ............................................. www.fides.nl 

Hilverdakooij .....................................................................16 .............................. www.hilverdakooij.nl 

Jondle Associates .............................................................7 ...............................www.jondellaw.com 

KSG’s Farm & Nursery....................................................32 ....................................................................... 

Lex+ .......................................................................................3 .................................................www.lex.nl 

COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE 

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft GmbH ................16 .......................www.luther-lawfirm.com 

Meilland International ....................................................32 ................................. www.meilland.com 

PLA International ApS ....................................................38 ......................................www.pla-int.com 

Rosen Tantau ....................................................................16 .........................www.rosen-tantau.com 

Royalty Administration International..........................52 .......................www.rai-worldwide.com 

Selecta Klemm GmbH & Co. KG ..................................10 ...........................www.slectawordl.com 

Serrano Puig Abogados ..................................................7 .......................... www.serranopuig.com 

Vondst Advocaten ...........................................................40 ............................ www.vondst-law.com 

Wuesthoff & Wuestohoff ................................................3 ..................................www.wuesthoff.de 

This index is provided as a service to our readers. The publisher does not assume responsibility for errors or omissions. 

Visit FloraCulture International advertisers on the internet by linking to their Websites from our Digital Online Advertiser Index at 

www.floracultureinternational.com. For readers who do not have internet access, please send your request for additional information from 

any of our advertisers to FloraCulture International B.V. (Vondelstraat 162, 1054 GW Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Be sure to include your name, 

company name, address, faxnumber and the name(s) of the companies about which you would like to receive additional information. 


BREEDING 

NO GROWTH WITHOUT RIGHTS. 

INCOME 

INNOVATION 

KNOWLEDGE 

Plant breeders’ rights encourages creativity and 

protects innovation. Therefore Royalty Administration 

International ® (RAI) committed itself to 

support the rights of breeders in the ornamental 

sector for many years on a worldwide basis. 

As an independent full service organisation 

RAI is responsible for applying 

plant breeders’ rights, licensing and 

administration of IP and collection 

of royalties on behalf of more than 

250 breeders of ornamentals, bulbs, 

fruits and vegetables. 

RAI offers the client a worldwide coverage, 

has a profound knowledge of horticulture 

and understands plants, the market and the 

grower. We are determined in our search 

for justice. Besides regular controlling 

visits we also utilize accountancy control, 

official inspection, legal letters, seizure of 

products and even court cases. 

We invite you to find out why RAI is the best 

partner for managing your plant breeders’ 

rights and IP! 

RAI congratulates Ciopora with 

50 YEARS ! 

of indispensable work. We hope they 

will make more effort to strengthen 

the vegetative branche in the future. 

Worldwide watching your rights. 

Headoffice ‘s-Gravenzande The Netherlands 

Phone +31 (0)174 420171 Fax +31 (0)174 420923 

info@royalty-adm-int.nl www.royalty-adm-int.nl

2011 CIOPORA Chronicle - the 50th Anniversary Edition

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