2013 CIOPORA Chronicle

AGM 2013
It comes as no
surprise that this
year’s venue for
CIOPORA’s Annual
General Meeting
is Angers, which
is the home town
of the CPVO. In its
long history dating
back to 150 AD,
Angers has been
dubbed ‘Ville des
Fleurs’ (City of
Flowers) and ‘Ville
verte’ (Green City).
From April 22 to
25, Angers has the
perfect chance
to protect its
green status with
CIOPORA bringing
the international
community of
ornamental and
fruit breeders
together within its
fortified city walls.
by Anna Kaehne
Tout arrive en France!
CIOPORA’s Annual General
Meeting will include
32 hours of meetings,
workshops and discussions, which
all have the same common goal: to
update CIOPORA’s position on IP
protection. CIOPORA will serve its
guests brand new topics for the annual
IP workshops, the IP-oriented
agenda of the AGM and a little bit
of fine French cuisine in between
to help you digest all the IP-related
information we have to offer.
April 22 – IP Workshops:
‘Vive la connaissance!’
Long live the knowledge! The
CIOPORA IP Workshops invite
CIOPORA members and guests to
three sessions of intensive learning
experiences. This year’s IP
workshops will address a number of
hands-on topics that every breeder
should have on his or her radar.
Dr. Katrin Ridinger from the
consulting agency Henrik Schreiber
Research & Consulting will share
her expertise in the area of patent
research in biotechnology with the
CIOPORA members. Dr. Nicola
Lanteri, international fiscal and
economy consultant from the Studio
Lanteri Associazione Professionale,
will introduce the participants
to the topic of international taxation
of royalties. The third workshop will
address the subject of licensing of
IP Rights for breeders. The compact
size of the groups will guarantee an
effective learning experience.
April 23 – Working Group and
Crop Section meetings: ‘Une fleur
ne fait pas une guirlande’
You cannot make a garland with
one flower, nor can you achieve
your goals without colleagues to
share your working experiences
with. That is why the networking
and co-operation in the groups
within the structure of CIOPORA
is so important. This year
CIOPORA provides its members
with the opportunity to join the
Working Group meetings during
The magnificent setting of Brissac Castle will provide the spectacular backdrop
for the CIOPORA’s AGM dinner on April 23.
an open session. There has been
also been a new development
among the crop-oriented groups:
the new Crop Section Gypsophila
will hold its very fi rst meeting
during the CIOPORA AGM 2013
in Angers.
April 24 – Annual General Meeting:
‘Tous pour un, un pour tous’
To find a mutual basis in order to
update the position of CIOPORA
on the central issues of the IP
Protection is the focal point of the
upcoming AGM of CIOPORA in
Angers. The topics on the agenda
will include discussions on:
• minimal distance between
varieties;
• ground-breaking innovation;
• Essentially Derived Varieties
(EDV);
• breeders' exemption;
• patents for plant-related
inventions.
The Board of CIOPORA is
looking forward to continuing
the debates, for which the groundwork
was successfully laid at the
CIOPORA Conference on Patent
and modern PBR for horticultural
breeding in September 2012 in
Venlo. President Andrea Mansuino
emphasised that the AGM in
Angers should become an important
forum for surveying the
opinions of the community in order
to come up with the much needed
solutions for the enhancement of
IP rights protection for the horticultural
breeders.
April 25 – Business excursions:
‘Bon voyage...’
The revival of the business excursions
in their original form of two
separate tours - for ornamentals and
fruits – is planned on the last day of
the CIOPORA’s AGM Week 2013.
After a joint visit of the headquarters
of the Community Plant
Variety Office, the participants
interested in visiting fruit production
sites of the Anjou region will
be taken on a tour by GEVES, and
IFO, a company specialised in the
research and development of apple
and pear varieties.
For the participants involved in
ornamental plants, CIOPORA will
offer an excursion through several
of the plant breeding companies
located in the region. |||
CIOPORA Chronicle April 2013 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 47