EU's Plant Variety Office to hold 3rd seminar on enforcement of plant variety rights

The EU's Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) is to hold a seminar in Madrid on 22-23 February 2007 on the enforcement of plant variety rights. The seminar is being organised in collaboration with breeders’ organisations and the European Commission, and will aim to share information and experience on the enforcement of plant variety rights in France, Spain and Portugal.
Around 170 participants are expected to attend, including intellectual property practitioners specialised in plant variety protection in EU Member States, and also breeders, judges, lawyers and government representatives. Two workshops will focus on problems faced in the agricultural sector and in the ornamental and fruit sectors.
This is to be the third seminar on the enforcement of plant variety rights, following gatherings in Brussels in October 2005 and in Warsaw in May 2006. These round tables are being held to address the difficulties faced by breeders in enforcing their EU and national plant variety rights. A key reason for this phenomenon is the insufficient knowledge of the applicable legislation among stakeholders.
Agenda, speeches and further information are available on the CPVO web.