EPO holds annual workshop with CPVO
On 27 May, the EPO and the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) held their annual technical workshop, as part of ongoing co-operation aimed at fostering innovation and legal certainty in the field of plant protection.
This was the fifth joint workshop held online since the offices renewed their long-standing co-operation agreement in 2022. The workshops serve as a forum to share information, exchange best practices, strengthen coordination, and contribute to an informed and balanced policy debate on the future of plant-related intellectual property rights.
The coexistence of patent and plant variety rights helps protect plant innovations while enabling collaboration through open licensing agreements, thereby supporting further innovation, competitiveness and growth in the sector.
Focus on NGTs, genetic resources and essentially derived varieties
During the workshop, the EPO and CPVO discussed the expected implications for their practice of the proposed EU Regulation on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques (NGTs), which is pending adoption by the European Parliament.
The close co-operation between the EPO and CPVO also strengthens the contribution of their technical and legal expertise to ongoing EU discussions on NGTs.
The EPO presented its examination practice for plant inventions based on genetic resources. The session covered patentability requirements and, following an overview of the current disclosure requirement under the EPC, the EPO highlighted the initiatives undertaken to improve access to databases on genetic resources and traditional knowledge.
The CPVO presented the legal concept and latest case law on essentially derived varieties, a topic currently under consideration in the context of the European Commission’s revision of Regulation (EC) No 2100/94, to which the EPO has actively contributed.
Towards an innovation-friendly framework in the plant sector
The workshop reinforced a share commitment of the EPO and CPVO to high-quality, legally robust protection systems, as well as to transparency and close co-operation between European partners. Discussions contributed to a common understanding of evolving regulatory frameworks and their implications for innovation, legal certainty and policy coherence in the plant sector.
