2013 CIOPORA Chronicle

CPVO
What is the secret
of the success
of the CPVO and
what is its role in
the horticultural
business?
A CPVO success story
One, affordable,
application for a
large marketplace
Although many factors have
contributed to the success of the EU
system, I think the main factor is
simple. A multinational system for
granting an EU wide intellectual
property rights through one appliby
Martin Ekvad
I
felt honoured when CIOPORA
asked me to provide an overview
on the CPVO success story,
as this indicates that CIOPORA
believes in the EU plant variety
system.
Steady growth
The number of applications has
been growing steadily from 1996
until 2007. Since 2007, the number
of applications has been stable at
a little less than 3,000 per year. A
total number of 45,500 applications
were received from 1996 until 31
December 2012. 34,000 titles were
granted and more than 20,300
titles are still in force. The number
of protected titles increases each
year. The majority of applications
received come from the ornamental
sector (in 2012; 49% ornamental,
27% agricultural, 16 % vegetable,
8 % fruit). These statistics are indicators
that the system is a success.
cation is efficient for breeders. The
EU plant variety protection system
takes the idea of efficiency further
in the sense that a single title is
granted throughout the territory of
the EU.
You have to be brave to proclaim in
the CIOPORA Chronicle that the
EU system is cheap. I nevertheless
dare to declare that, all in all, the
price for an EU title is generally
reasonable and this has contributed
to the success. The alternative of an
EU system would be to protect and
pay fees in a number of Member
States which would certainly not be
cheaper. The application fees were
reduced from € 900 to € 650 as from
January this year. In addition, the
Administrative Council has decided
to propose a decrease of the annual
fees from € 300 to € 250 as from
January 2014 to the Commission. In
general, the fees for technical examinations
are reasonable although in
the fruit sector, a sector with many
CIOPORA members, the fees tend
to be high compared to other species.
An R&D project, co-financed
by the CPVO, is in place to review
whether costs can be limited for fruit
species. The CPVO is determined to
keep costs affordable and I have no
doubt that CIOPORA would remind
us if this aim is not achieved.
A centre for
harmonisation
Apart from the mere business of
handling applications, the CPVO
has become a centre for member
states and breeders to exchange
views and develop ideas and common
procedures and practices.
Examples are harmonising the
technical work of examination
offices and the joint work on
new IT tools such as the Variety
Finder data base and an electronic
application system. In addition,
the CPVO Quality Audit Service
has been created in order to set a
minimum quality for Examination
Offices to comply with in
order to be entrusted as competent
authorities to carry out DUS tests
on behalf of the CPVO.
A key element in a well-functioning
system is input from the users and
the breeders’ organisations such
as CIOPORA. CIOPORA, ESA
and Plantum are observers in the
meetings of the Administrative
Council of the CPVO where they
provide input on all matters of
policy including technical, legal
and financial matters. Breeders are
involved in the CPVO’s daily work
by actively participating in meetings
and providing comments on
documents.
42 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | CIOPORA Chronicle April 2013