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FAQ

Some of the questions and answers provided on this page might have been amended due to the measures adopted by the Office during the coronavirus outbreak regarding postponement of time limits. Please consult the COVID-19 webpage for further reference.  

Access to CPVO online services

  • How can I define or change my password?

    Please go to the authentification page, click on link "Lost password". You will be requested to enter your login. If the login is found, you will shortly after receive an automated email containing a link to redefine the password. This link is only valid for 72 hours. In case the delay is past, you can do the same procedure again. In case the login was not recognised by the system, please refer to the other option "Lost login?" to retrieve your login.

  • How can I retrieve my login?

    If you are unsure of your login, please go to the authentification page, click on link "Lost login".

    You will be requested to provide your email address, and will shortly after receive an automated email with the list of login(s) related to the provided email address.

  • My login or password is not recognised, what should I do?

    You should firstly make sure that you type your login in small letters only (although the system will enforce this). You should eventually retrieve your login using the link "Lost login" provided on the authentification page. Your password can also very quickly be redefined using the link "Lost password". Please note that passwords are case sensitive, are at minimum 6 characters long, and should contain at least a capital letter, a small letter and a digit. As a general security rule, it is recommended to have longer passwords including special characters as well (for example - _ , ; : ! * $)

  • What services are available with my login/password?

    A  general  user will have access by default to the Variety Finder (see description) and the Online Applications System to apply online for Plant Variety Protection to the CPVO.

    An applicant, holder or related procedural representative will have access to the aforementioned services plus MyPVR which is a dedicated website to consult files, documents, and exchange information related to their files with the Office.

Cancellation

  • Are there particular time limits for requesting cancellation that should be observed?

    There are no particular time limits. Once one or more of the above mentioned conditions are not fulfilled a request for cancellation can be send by a third party or the cancellation decision taken by the Office on its own motion.

  • Can I file the cancellation request on my own or do I need a procedural representative?

    A procedural representative with a seat or establishment within the territory of the European Union is necessary only if the requestor is not domiciled nor does it have a seat or establishment in the European Union.

  • Can the decision on the cancellation be subject to an appeal?

    An appeal against a decision on a cancellation may be lodged before the Board of Appeal within two months after the publication or service of the decision.

  • In what language should the request for cancellation be sent?

    The request for cancellation shall be sent in one of the official languages of the European Union.

  • Is it possible to rely on several grounds for cancellation?

    A request for cancellation may be based on several different grounds.

  • Is there a specific form for requesting cancellation?

    There is no specific form for requesting cancellation. The interested party shall send a request to the Office. The cancellation request shall be accompanied by evidence and facts raising serious doubts as to the validity of the title. 

  • Which are the effects of the cancellation?

    A Community plant variety right is cancelled with effect in futurum (ex nunc effects).

  • Which are the fees concerning the cancellation?

    There are no fees requested.

  • Which are the grounds of cancellation of a CPVR?

    The Office shall cancel the Community plant variety right if it is established that:

    a)           The uniformity and stability conditions are no longer complied with. (If it is stablished that they were already no longer complied with from a point in time prior to cancellation, cancellation may be effective as from that juncture).

    This case takes, as its point of departure, that the variety has been uniform and stable as from the outset, but after some time no longer complies with these requirements.

    The Office may cancel the Community plant variety right if the holder, after being requested to do so, and within a time limit specified by the Office:

    b)           Has not provided all the information necessary to assess the continuing existence unaltered of the variety to the Office or to the Examination Office to which technical verification of the variety has been entrusted - obligation pursuant to Article 64.3 of the Basic Regulation.

    c)            Does not propose another suitable variety denomination in the case referred to in Article 66 of the Basic Regulation.

    d)           Fails to pay such fees as may be payable to keep the Community plant variety right in force.

    e)           No longer satisfies the conditions based on nationality and procedural representation (dealing with entitlement) either as the initial holder or as a successor in title as a result of a transfer pursuant to Article 23.

  • Who can initiate the cancellation procedure of a CPVR?

    Both a third party upon request and the Office on its own motion.

Nullity

  • Are there particular time limits for requesting nullity that should be observed?

    There are no particular time limits. Once one or more of the above mentioned conditions are not fulfilled an application for nullity can be filed by a third party or the nullity declared by the Office on its own motion.

  • Can I file the nullity request on my own or do I need a procedural representative?

    A procedural representative with a seat or establishment within the territory of the European Union is necessary only if the nullity requestor is not domiciled nor does it have a seat or establishment in the European Union.

  • Can the decision on the nullity be subject to an appeal?

    An appeal against a nullity decision may be lodged before the Board of Appeal within two months after the publication or service of the decision.

  • In what language should the request for nullity be sent?

    The request for nullity shall be sent in one of the official languages of the European Union.

  • Is it possible to rely on several grounds for nullity?

    A request for nullity may be based on several different grounds.

  • Is there any specific form for requesting nullity?

    No, there is no specific form for requesting nullity. The interested party shall send a request to the Office. The nullity request shall be accompanied by evidence and facts raising serious doubts as to the validity of the title.  

  • Which are the effects of the nullity?

    Where the Community plant variety right is declared null and void, it shall be deemed not to have had as from the outset, the effects specified in the Regulation 2100/94 (ex tunc effects).

  • Which are the fees concerning the nullity?

    There are no fees requested.

  • Which are the grounds of nullity of a CPVR?

    The Office shall declare the Community plant variety right null and void if it is established that:

    a) The conditions of uniformity and stability were not complied with at the time of the grant of the right, when the grant of the CPVR   has been essentially based upon information and documents furnished by the applicant; or

    b) The conditions of distinctness or novelty were not complied with at the time of the CPVR; or

    c) The right has been granted to a person who is not entitled to it, unless it is transferred to the person who is so entitled.

  • Who can initiate the nullity procedure for a CPVR?

    Both a third party upon request and the Office on its own motion.

Appeals before the Board of Appeal

  • Can I file an appeal on my own or do I need a procedural representative?

    A procedural representative with a seat or establishment within the territory of the European Union is necessary only if the appellant is not domiciled nor it does not have a seat or establishment in the European Union.

  • Can the appeal decision be subject to further actions?

    Any party to proceedings who has been unsuccessful (whole or in part) in an appeal procedure may lodge an action against a decision of the Board of Appeal before the General Court of the European Union. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction to annul or to alter the decision of the Board of Appeal.

  • Can the decision of the General Court be subject to a further appeal?

    The decisions from the General Court may be appealed before the Court of Justice of the EU.

  • On which grounds can the appeal before the General Court be lodged?

    The action before the General Court may be brought on grounds of lack of competence, infringement of an essential procedural requirement, infringement of the Treaty, of Regulation (EC) No. 2100/94 or any other rule of law relating to their application, or misuse of power.

  • What is the time limit to file an appeal?

    The time limit to file the appeal is two months after the publication or service of the contested decision.

  • What is the time limit to file such further appeal?

    The time limit to bring the action before the General Court is two months after the date of service of the contested decision.

  • Which are the effects of filing an appeal?

    The appeal shall have suspensory effect where it is directed against decisions on nullity, cancellation, objection, refusal or grant of an application, approval or amendment of a variety denomination, fees, costs, the entering or deletion of information in the Register or public inspection.

    As far as regards an appeal against compulsory licensing and change in holdership of a CPVR it shall have no suspensory effect.

  • Which are the fees concerning the lodgment of an appeal?

    There is a single appeal fee of EUR 1500. However the appeal fee shall not be paid in one installment. One third of the appeal fee is due on the date of receipt of the appeal by the Office. The remaining two thirds are due, upon request of the Office, within 1 month after remittal of the case to the Board of Appeal.

  • Which decisions can be subject to an appeal?

    An appeal shall lie from decisions of the Office which have been taken pursuant to Articles 20 (Nullity), 21 (Cancellation), 59 (Objections), 61 (Refusal of an application), 62 (Grant of an application), 63 (Approval of a variety denominations) and 66 (Amendment of a variety denomination), as well as on decisions related to fees pursuant to Article 83, to costs pursuant to Article 85, to  the entering or deletion of information in the Register pursuant to Article 87 and to the public inspection pursuant to Article 88 of the Regulation No. 2100/94.

    An appeal may lie from decisions of the Office pursuant to Articles 29 (Compulsory licensing) and 100 (Change in holdership of CPVR) unless a direct action is brought before the Court of Justice of the EU.

  • Who can file an appeal against a decision of the CPVO?

    Any natural and legal person may appeal against a decision of the Office addressed to that person or against a decision which, although addressed to another person, is of direct and individual concern to the former. The parties to proceedings my be party to the appeal proceedings. The Office is a party to the appeal proceedings.

Objections

  • Can I file the objection on my own or do I need a procedural representative?

    A procedural representative with a seat or establishment within the territory of the European Union is necessary only if the objector is not domiciled nor does it have a seat or establishment in the European Union.

  • Can the decision on the objection be subject to an appeal?

    An appeal against a decision on an objection may be lodged before the Board of Appeal within two months after the publication or service of the decision.

  • In which language shall the objection be filed?

    The objection shall be sent in one of the official languages of the European Union.

  • Is there any specific forms to file the objection?

    There are no specific forms to file an objection. The objector shall send the request to the Office in writing.

  • On which basis can an objection be filed?

    Objections may be based only on the contention that:

    - the conditions of DUS, novelty or entitlement are not complied with (Art. 7 to 11) and/or

    - there is an impediment to a proposed variety denomination (Art. 63(3) or (4)

  • When does the objection need to be filed?

    At any time after the application (publication of the application) and before the granting date. For denominations only, the objection must be lodged within 3 months of the publication of the proposed denominations.

  • Which are the effects of filing an objection?

    The main effect is that objectors shall be party to the proceedings for grant of CPVR in addition to the applicant, and thus have access to the documents including the results of the technical examination and the variety description.

  • Which are the fees concerning the objection?

    There are no specific fees concerning the filing of an objection.

  • Who can file an objection to a CPVR?

    Any person may lodge with the Office a written objection to the grant of a CPVR.

Accounting and Finance

  • Can the deadline for payment be extended?

    There is no possibility change the deadline for payment. All payments must be made at the latest at the due date of a debit note. It should be noted that non-payment of the application fee leads to not filed. Non-payment of report fee or examination fee leads to a refusal. Non-payment of an annual fee can lead to a cancellation of a title.

  • Could you send me a payment confirmation?

    Applicants using the MyPVR system should check their account for all documentation requests. Other applicants should send their request to: cpvobank [at] cpvo [dot] europa [dot] eu

  • Does the CPVO reimburse erroneous payments?

    The office can reimburse over-payments as long as the person making the payment sends all the bank details requested. Over-payment may also be deducted from subsequent amounts due.

  • How can we get copies of debit notes or a statement of our account (or a list of outstanding invoices)?

    For applicants applying electronically through MyPVR, all documents are available, printable and downloadable via the MyPVR system. Other applicants should send their request to: cpvobank [at] cpvo [dot] europa [dot] eu

  • How do I change financial details (financial address, email address, financial client, PO number, grouping of debit notes…)?

    Please find the form provided for such purpose: modification of financial options

    For your information, only one email address can be indicated.

    If you want several people to receive the notifications, the only option is to indicate a shared email address.

    Please be aware, this form needs to be signed by someone who is authorized to sign (1 person suffices), within your company (information available on your client sheet or on request at registry [at] cpvo [dot] europa [dot] eu).

  • Is it possible to indicate our VAT number on CPVO debit and credit notes?

    It is possible to add your VAT number on notes, please send your detailed request with your VAT number at cpvobank [at] cpvo [dot] europa [dot] eu

  • Is there any alternative to charge accounts?

    All payments must be made by bank transfer to the CPVO Account.

  • What is a charge account and is it possible to open one?

    A charge account is a system whereby the applicant sends advances on future payments to the CPVO which manages the deductions for debit notes. The office no longer proposes charge accounts for applicants.

  • What is the CPVO SIRET number?

    The SIRET Is a French company registration number.

    SIREN identification number 417 996 410

    SIRET identification 417 996 410 00029

    Name COMMUNITY PLANT VARIETY OFFICE

    Acronym CPVO

  • What is the CPVO VAT number?

    As with other EU Institutions and Agencies, the CPVO does not have a VAT number. Nor does the CPVO pay of invoice VAT (article 32 of EC-2100/94 CPVO and art. 3, 4 of the Protocol of Privileges and Immunities).

    Link to the regulation EC-2100/94: http://cpvo.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/en2100consolide.pdf

  • What is the RIB / IBAN of the CPVO?

    Find below the link to our bank account details: http://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations/fees-and-payments

    (See the details at the bottom of the page)

  • Why has the annual fee increased?

    The level of the annual fee is determined to maintain a balanced budget and to safeguard the continuity of the operations of the CPVO. Exceptionally, from 2014 to 2016 the annual fee was reduced to enable the breeders to pay less for each year of protection and to reduce CPVO financial reserves.

    As the financial reserve has now been brought to a reasonable level, for various reasons (including the fact that examination fees are not fully invoiced to the applicants and are subsidized out of the annual fee), the level of the annual fee has been adjusted accordingly.

    Please note that, unless something unforeseeable happens, the level of annual fee should be stable for at least the period 2017-2021

Registry

  • Can these documents be issued in any language?

    The Office cannot modify the language of the documents in which the application has been filed. However, the declaration and the extract of register can be issued in most of the languages of the European Union. The certificate on the grant is delivered with a translation in all these languages. For other cases, the CPVO does not translate the documents. The translation is at the requestor’s charge.

  • How to register a transfer of CPVR ownership?

    A deed of assignment whereby the present holder (assignor) transfers the concerned CPVRs or/and application(s) to the new holder (assignee) must be provided. It must be duly dated and signed by both holders or parties. An explanatory note on assignments and a template assignment are available on our website at: http://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations/filing-application/filing-paper . Please note that there is a fee of € 100 for the transfer recordal and a publication in the Official Gazette of the Office.

  • How to surrender a right / to withdraw an application?

    Surrender and withdrawal requests can be sent electronically to the Office, provided the hand-signed surrender or withdrawal declaration is sent as an attachment to the e-mail addressed to the Office, or by surface mail.

    For applicants using the on-line application system there is also the possibility to upload the surrender or withdrawal request via MyPVR and to send it to the Office.

  • I need certified documents or an extract of register for filing an application out of the European Union or for priority purposes, how can I request these documents to the CPVO?

    The certified copies or extracts of register can be requested directly online, by completing the pre-filled form available in MyPVR under Links and Certified documents request.

    There is a 20€ fee for the 10 first pages issued and 1€ per additional page. The documents are sent only after receipt of the payment.

  • In which language can I file an application for Community plant variety rights and other supporting documents?

    Applications to the Office and supporting documents shall be filed in one of the official languages of the European Union. The language in which the application is filed initially defines the language of proceedings before the Office. The applicant or titleholder may later ask for the recordal of a different language of proceedings, especially if there’s a transfer of application, right or representative. The certificate of the grant of a right will be issued in the language indicated by the applicant on the application form. Any of the official languages of the European Union may be used by a party to proceedings.

  • Under which cicumstance do I need a procedural representative?
    • Applicant based outside the EU

    If you do not have a domicile, a seat or an establishment within the European Union, you are required to appoint a procedural representative residing within the European Union in order to receive any communication from the Office. Under these circumstances, the procedural representative may not be your employee. A form for this purpose is available on the CPVO’s website.

    • Applicant based within the EU

    If you have a domicile, a seat or an establishment in the European Union, you are not obliged to appoint a procedural representative but you may do so if you wish. Under these circumstances, the procedural representative may not be your employee. You can make use of the form available on the CPVO’s website.

    (https://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations/filing-application/filing-paper)

  • What are the different forms of acknowledgement of receipt of an application?

    The application is complete ‘R-Form’

    Once your application has reached the Office and all requirements according to Art. 50 of Council Regulation 2100/94 are fulfilled, the Office sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the applicant or to the procedural representative giving the date of application and the file number of the application. Please read this form carefully because, even though an application date has been allocated, additional information may be required by the Office, when an ‘R-Form’ with remark(s) has been issued.

    The application is not yet valid ‘No-Form’

    A ‘No-form’ is issued and sent to the applicant (or to the procedural representative if appointed) when the application does not fulfil the requirements laid down in Art. 50 of Council Regulation 2100/94. All missing information is specified in such a ‘No-Form’. An application date will only be allocated when all deficiencies are remedied within one month from the date of issue of the ‘No-Form’.

    The ‘C-Form’

    A ‘C-form’ is issued and sent to the applicant when the application fees were received 15 days after the issuance of the ‘R-Form’. The Office informs of the updated application date given as a result of late payment. A ‘C-Form’ can also be sent to update the applicant on the file reception. If, for instance, all, none or part of the remedying information is sent in, the Office issues a C-Form, indicating either that all is now valid and complete or indicating what remains missing.

  • When are the annual fees due for payment (anniversary of filing or granting date)?

    The first annual fee shall be paid within 60 days of the granting date. The annual fees due for the subsequent years shall be paid on the first day of the calendar month preceding the month in which the anniversary date of the grant falls. 

  • Where can I file an application for CPVR?

    To file an application for CPVRs, use the online application facilities: https://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations/filing-application

  • Where can I find the granting date of a CPVR?

    The granting dates are accessible to the Public on our website under the following section: Applications and titles in force

     

  • Who can file an application for CPVR?

    An application for Community Plant Variety Rights may be filed by any natural or legal person or anybody ranking as a legal person under the law applicable to that body. An application may be filed jointly by two or more such persons.

    Applicants who are not domicilied or do not have a seat or an establishment within the territory of the European Union must appoint a representative domiciled or seated or established within the territory of the European Union. Applicants with domicile, seat or establishement in the European Union do not have the obligation to appoint a procedural representative. An employee shall not be designated as a procedural representative. When a procedural representative is appointed, all notifications from the Office shall be addressed to him. The procedural representative form is available on the website. http://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations/filing-application/filing-paper

    The legal representative

    Where the applicant is a legal person (e.g. a company) rather than a natural person (an individual), the Office must be informed of the name and address of the natural person who is empowered under the applicable national legislation to represent the legal person.

    The original breeder and the entitlement to apply

    If the breeder is not the applicant, a deed of assignment must be provided, or a declaration from the employer, if applicable.

    The breeder (assignor) must have assigned their rights to the entitlement to apply for CPVRs and to hold CPVRs in the name of the applicant (assignee). No application date will be attributed without supporting evidence as to how the entitlement was transferred from the breeder to the applicant.

  • Who can request certified documents?

    The applicant(s) or the procedural representative of the file(s) concerned can make this request. If a third party wishes to have these documents, he/she should provide the Office with a written declaration (by email is possible), issued and signed by a person, authorized to sign in the name of the applicant, authorizing the Office to release the requested documents to the requestor. The documents will be issued upon receipt of the requested authorization.

Variety Finder

  • Does the database contain information from EU countries only?

    Any national authority or international organization responsible for an official register can contribute to the Variety Finder. It contains information on registers of more than 60 countries (EU and NON EU). A memorandum of understanding has been signed with UPOV to share the task of collecting data from EU Member States and non-EU countries and ensure a regular data exchange.

  • What does the variety status mean?

    Each record shows information on the status linked to the register. You will find the following status:

    • APPLICATION: indicates that the procedure of registration, grant, or listing is under assessment
    • REGISTERED: shows that the variety was registered (and is still under protection for plant variety rights)
    • WITHDRAWN:  the application was withdrawn before registration or grant
    • REJECTED: the application was rejected before registration or grant
    • SURRENDERED: the right or registration has been cancelled by the title holder before its foreseeable end. 
    • TERMINATED: the right or registration has been cancelled by the relevant office before its foreseeable end
    • EXPIRED: after the variety registration reached the end of the period of validity or the duration of protection has expired.
  • What is the CPVO Variety Finder database?

    Maintained and developed by the CPVO since 2005, the web-based CPVO Variety Finder database contains information on plant variety registers of more than 60 countries

    It contains more than 1 million records.

  • Which information can be found in the database?

    Each record is categorized with the register type:

    • PBR (Plant Breeders’ Rights): Rights granted to the breeder of a new plant variety that give their holder exclusive control over the propagation of their variety for a number of years over a certain territory.
    • NLI (National Lists): Lists of varieties of agricultural and vegetable species eligible for marketing over a certain territory.
    • COM (Commercial registers): Varieties present in a register of commercialized varieties. The Variety Finder mainly includes commercial registers for the Netherlands
    • PLP: (Plant Patents): some countries offer the possibility to protect plant varieties with patents
    • ZZZ: Others types of registers not covered by the existing types of registers.
    • EUTM: European Union Trade marks registered with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). These trademarks are registered in class 31 of the “Nice classification”, which contains living plants

    For each record, you can find information on the variety (denomination, breeder, applicant, country of application etc…)

  • Which search tools are available in the database?
    • A general search tool (Search Varieties) with various search possibility (eg. Denomination, species, country…)
    • A tool to test denominations for similarity: you will enter the denomination, select the species and launch the test. The system will compare the entered denomination with relevant records in the database (variety denominations of species belonging to the same class of species).

Denomination

  • How do I know that my variety denomination is suitable?

    A variety denomination is suitable, if there is no impediment pursuant to paragraphs 3 or 4 of Article 63 of the Basic Regulation.

    A variety denomination should allow identifying your variety. It must be recognizable and reproducible.

    A variety denomination should not be precluded by a prior right; it should not give offense or be contrary to public policy. The variety denomination should not be identical or similar to another variety denomination of the same or closely related species and it should not mislead or create confusion as to the characteristics, value or identity of the variety or the identity of the breeder or any party to proceedings. The variety denomination should also not refer to designations that should be kept free under other legislations.

    In respect to similarity, please note that the CPVO Variety Finder database offers upon free registration a service to test the similarity of your variety denomination against existing denominations of the same or of a closely related species. For other aspects, please refer to the Guidelines on variety denominations, available on the CPVO website.

    In the case of an application for Community Plant Variety Right, the proposed denomination is systematically checked and analysed by the Office before publication. If the proposed denomination is not suitable, the Office will send an observation to the applicant with the request to comment on the findings or to submit a new denomination proposal within one month from the date of our letter. The comments of the applicant will be presented to and discussed by the Committee responsible for the suitability of variety denominations and the outcome (suitable or unsuitable) will be notified to the applicant by letter. The applicant has two months to either propose a new variety denomination, or to comment again.

    Please note that the decision to grant a Community Plant variety right and to approve a denomination are taken at the same moment. The lack of a suitable denomination at that time can lead to the rejection of the whole application.

    In order to minimize mistakes, please make sure always to inform all authorities with whom plant variety rights have been applied for of any change in the variety denomination of the same variety (one variety, one denomination rule).

  • Is it possible to change the variety denomination of a granted variety?

    In accordance with article 66 of the Basic Regulation “the Office shall amend a variety denomination designated pursuant to Article 63 if it establishes that the denomination does not satisfy, or no longer satisfies, the conditions laid down in Article 63 and in the event of a prior conflicting right of a third party, if the holder agrees to the amendment or the holder or any other person required to use the variety denomination has been prohibited, by a final judgment, for this reason from using the variety denomination ”.

    In practice a request to change the approved variety denomination in accordance with article 66 of the Basic Regulation with the indicated impediment under article 63 of the same regulation should be filed (most requests are mainly based on 63.3 (a) Prior right of a third party and 63.4 First registration in an official register of plant variety rights).

    The request will be submitted to the Committee responsible for the suitability of variety denominations that will accept or reject it. If accepted the denomination will be tested, analysed and if found suitable published under chapter 2.3 “Proposal to change an approved variety denomination” in the CPVO Gazette. The usual 3 months’ waiting period for written objections by any person from the date of publication will apply. If no objections have been received within the three months’ time limit, the Committee responsible for the suitability of variety denominations will be requested to approve the new proposal definitively, which will take place with the publication of the proposal under chapter 2.4 “Approval of a new denomination of a protected variety” in the Gazette. It is only on the date of publication of the latter that the variety denomination will be entered in the registers.

    Spelling mistakes due to transcription errors in the variety denomination, which are notified after granting can be corrected  in accordance with Article 53.4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 874/2009.

  • What is a trade mark?

    A trademark is a distinctive sign that can consists of words, symbols, a slogan, a logo, or a combination thereof that distinguishes trader's goods or services from a competitor's goods or services. A trademark has no limited term of existence as long as the trademark holder continues to use the mark to indicate the source of good and services and pays the renewal fees.

    The registration of a trade mark gives the trade mark holder the exclusive right to use the trade mark in the territories where it has been registered. A trademark, trade name or other similar indication may be associated with the denomination for the purposes of marketing or selling, provided that  the denomination must be easily recognizable as such (on documents, packaging, …).

  • What is a variety denomination?

    A variety denomination is the generic name of a plant variety. In the framework of a CPVR application, the applicant must submit a suitable denomination for his new variety. To be suitable, the variety denomination must comply with the requirements of  Article 63 of Regulation No 2100/94 (the Basic Regulation). the Office has adopted Guidelines on variety denominations, which help interpreting Article 63 of the Basic Regulation. A plant variety denomination is unique and Article 17 of the Basic Regulation makes the use of the variety denomination compulsory in respect of the offering for sale or the marketing of the propagating material of the variety, even after expiration of the CPVR.

  • When do I need to propose a variety denomination?

    It is advisable to submit the denomination proposal together with the application form, so that it can be processed right away with the CPVR application form. If not, the Office will send out a reminder five months before the estimated date of arrival of the final technical examination report (5R).

    It should be remarked that changing a variety denomination before the granting date is free of charge.

General

  • What are Community Plant Variety Rights? What are the advantages of applying for a Community Plant Variety Right?

    A Community Plant Variety Right (“CPVR”) is an intellectual property right designed for new plant varieties. Applicants can either apply for PVR protection at national or European Union level. By a single application for a CPVR, an intellectual property right is granted with unitary effect throughout the whole territory of the EU.

  • What are the effects of a Community Plant Variety Right?

    The holder of a CPVR has the right to carry out certain acts in relation to the protected variety. Others wishing to effect those acts must firstly obtain the authorisation of the holder. The holder may make his authorization subject to conditions and limitations. The acts in question are:

    • (a) production or reproduction (multiplication),
    • (b) conditioning for the purpose of propagation,
    • (c) offering for sale,
    • (d) selling or other marketing,
    • (e) exporting from the Community,
    • (f) importing to the Community,
    • (g) stocking for any of the purposes mentioned under points (a) to (f).

    The scope of the CPVR extends to harvested material of the variety (for example fruit and cut flowers which are imported into the Community) where these are obtained through the unauthorized use of variety constituents of the protected variety and where the breeder has not had a reasonable opportunity to exercise his right in relation to the said variety constituents.

  • What are the main steps in applying for Community Plant Variety Protection?

    The main steps in applying for Community Plant Variety Protection are found in the notes for applicants: http://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations 

    http://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations

  • What are the requirements for protecting a plant variety?

    The plant variety shall be new, distinct, uniform and stable and have a suitable denomination. These criteria are explained in different sections in this FAQ document.

  • What is the duration of a CPVR?

    Once the right is granted, it is valid for a maximum duration of 25 years, or 30 years for vine, trees and potatoes, provided the annual fees are paid.

  • What is the meaning of new?

    A CPVR can be granted only if the variety is new. The variety will not be new if variety constituents or harvested material of the applied-for variety were commercialized or disposed of to others for commercial exploitation with the breeder's consent:

    - within the European Union for more than one year before the date of application;

    - outside the European Union for more than four (4) years or, in the case of trees and vines six (6) years,

    prior to the date of application. The relevant date to establish the compliance with the novelty requirement is the date on which the plant material of the applied-for variety is physically transferred.

  • Who is responsible for enforcing plant breeders’ rights?

    The breeders are responsible to enforce their rights.

    Find out more information on the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights at: 

    https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/customs-controls/counterfeit-piracy-other-ipr-violations/defend-your-rights_en

Technical matters

  • What are the plant material requirements for a particular species? Quantity and quality of seeds/plants, date of plant material submission

    All relevant information can be found here: https://cpvo.europa.eu/en/applications-and-examinations/technical-examinations/submission-of-plant-material-s2-publication

  • What is a DUS technical examination?

    https://cpvo.europa.eu/en/technical-examinations

  • What is a “take-over” of a DUS report?

    EU examination offices:

    If a technical examination has already been carried out, or is in the process of being carried out on a variety already benefiting from national plant variety rights or entered for national listing in a Member State of the European Union, the Office may consider the examination reports of the responsible authorities to be a sufficient basis for a decision to grant a CPVR. However, this only applies to reports from examination offices of the European Union which were entrusted for technical examinations by the Administrative Council of the Office.

    Non-EU examination offices:

    The CPVO may under certain circumstances make use of DUS reports established by a non EU EO. This requires the consent of the Administrative Council of the Office to a written agreement defining the conditions between the CPVO and the competent authority.

  • What is the closing date?

    The Office determines closing dates and dates for the submission of plant material. A closing date is the latest date by which a valid application has to be filed at the Office in order to ensure the technical examination of this application in the next growing season. These closing and submission dates are published in the special issue S2 of the Official Gazette of the Office, on the website. Paragraph 8.5 of the note for applicants.