2011 CIOPORA Chronicle - the 50th Anniversary Edition

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
08 www.CIOPORA.org | CIOPORA Chronicle April 2011