3.1. Plants and plant varieties

According to Art. 53(b) EPC, a patent shall not be granted if the claimed subject-matter is directed to plant varieties. If a product claim does not specify any particular plant variety, but a technical teaching which can be embodied in an unspecified number of plant varieties, the subject-matter of the claimed invention does not relate to a plant variety or varieties within the meaning of Art. 53(b) EPC. Thus, a patent will not be granted for a single plant variety but can be granted if varieties may fall within the scope of the claims. If plant varieties are individually claimed, they are not patentable, irrespective of how they were made (G 1/98, OJ 2000, 111).