Introduction to the EC Regulation on Plant Variety Protection

Council Regulation (EC) No. 2100/94 on Plant Variety Protection (the Regulation) enables breeders to obtain Community-wide protection for new plant varieties by filing a single application with the newly-established Community Plant Variety Office. Because of the huge time and money savings created by this single central filing requirement, it is expected that the EC Regulation will eclipse the Member States' individual plant variety protection regimes, especially as virtually all of these are already aligned with the 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (LTPOV), which essentially comprises the same substantive rules as the EC Regulation. In the absence of an official explanatory memorandum on this important Regulation, this thorough commentary will be of great value to plant breeders, growers, farmers, and business lawyers concerned with the marketing and disposal of plant materials. The book offers the full official English text of the Regulation, with detailed article-by-article commentary that includes: precise definitions of every term, including the special meanings of 'new' and 'distinct' in the context of plant variety protection law; in-depth explanation of entitlement, duration, transfer, and termination of a breeder's rights to plant variety protection; analysis of the administrative and appeal systems of the Community Plant Variety Office; substantive and procedural issues arising from claims of entitlement and actions for infringement. Appendices include texts of the three implementing regulations, which cover such matters as fees, administrative proceedings, documentation, and the agricultural exemption. These regulations are cross-referenced whenever their subject matter arises in the commentary.