Have you developed a new plant variety? Are you the holder of a plant variety certificate facing infringement by a third party? Plant variety rights (PVR) are the dedicated sui generis IP title for plant innovators, distinct from patents and trademarks, and they require a specific filing strategy in France, before the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) in Angers and worldwide through the UPOV Convention.
Dreyfus advises plant breeders, seed companies, biotech firms, research institutes and agricultural cooperatives on the full life cycle of plant variety rights: strategy, filing, prosecution, licensing and enforcement in France and internationally. We coordinate with technical examination bodies (GEVES in France, CPVO at EU level) and with a network of trusted local correspondents wherever your varieties need protection.
Four structural reasons why plant variety rights are the most efficient legal tool to monetize a new variety and to defend years of breeding investment.
A plant variety certificate granted by the INOV or the CPVO protects a new variety for 25 years from grant, extended to 30 years for vines, trees and potatoes. This long duration matches the typical 8 to 15 years of R&D needed to develop a commercial variety.
Source: EU Regulation 2100/94 and French Intellectual Property Code, article L. 623-13.
The Community Plant Variety Right granted by the CPVO in Angers protects the variety across all 27 EU member states under a single right, with one application, one renewal fee and one centralized enforcement framework.
Source: EU Regulation 2100/94 on Community plant variety rights.
The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), based in Geneva, brings together 78 contracting parties under a harmonized framework. A national filing opens a 12-month priority window to file in any other UPOV member country.
Source: UPOV, status of membership as of 2024.
To obtain a plant variety certificate, a variety must satisfy four cumulative criteria: Distinct from existing varieties, Uniform within its expression, Stable across successive generations, and Novel (not commercially exploited beyond legal time limits). It must also bear a suitable denomination.
Source: UPOV Convention 1991, articles 5 to 9.
Creating a new plant variety typically requires 8 to 15 years of research, significant financial investment and deep agronomic expertise. Without dedicated legal protection, these efforts can be undermined within a single growing season by unauthorized propagation, parallel sales of seeds and direct competition from copy varieties.
A plant variety certificate grants the breeder an exclusive right to authorize the production, reproduction, sale, import and export of the propagating material of the protected variety. It is the only IP title specifically designed for plant innovations and covers the variety itself, not the underlying genes or processes.
The plant variety certificate is a sui generis industrial property title, distinct from patents and trademarks, designed for plant innovations. To be eligible, a variety must meet four cumulative requirements known as the DUS criteria plus novelty: it must be Distinct from existing varieties, Uniform within its expression, Stable over successive generations, and new (not commercially exploited beyond defined time limits). The variety must also bear a suitable denomination.
In France, the certificate is granted by the Instance Nationale des Obtentions Végétales (INOV) after technical examination by GEVES (Groupe d’étude et de contrôle des variétés et des semences), under articles L. 623-1 et seq. of the French Intellectual Property Code. At European level, the Community Plant Variety Right (CPVR) is granted by the CPVO in Angers and covers all 27 EU member states under a single right.
Internationally, the UPOV Convention of 1961 (last revised in 1991) provides a harmonized framework across 78 contracting parties, allowing breeders to file in multiple jurisdictions while benefiting from a 12-month priority right.
With the support of Dreyfus, create, enhance, and protect your plant varieties with peace of mind!
Dreyfus combines French legal expertise with direct relationships with the INOV, the CPVO in Angers and UPOV national offices, and a network of trusted local correspondents in every country where your varieties matter. We support breeders, seed companies and research institutes on filing strategy, DUS testing, licensing, infringement actions and contractual disputes.
We assist in registering your plant varieties to ensure recognized legal protection nationally and internationally.
We provide portfolio management services, including renewal tracking and strategy development to maximize the value of your plant varieties.
We represent clients in plant variety disputes, including infringement actions and opposition procedures.
We develop customized strategies to protect your plant varieties against copying and unauthorized use.
Our experts advise on regulatory compliance and best practices for safe innovation in the field of plant varieties.
We conduct continuous monitoring to detect any rights violations and act quickly to enforce them.
A plant variety certificate (PVR), also called a plant breeder’s right, is a sui generis industrial property title specifically designed for new plant varieties. It is distinct from a patent: a patent protects a technical invention defined by claims, while a PVR protects the variety as such, identified by its DUS characteristics. PVRs are granted under specific criteria (Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability and Novelty), with technical examination of the variety in the field, which patents do not involve.
To obtain a plant variety certificate, a variety must satisfy four cumulative criteria. It must be Distinct from any other variety known at the date of filing. It must be Uniform in its relevant characteristics within the population. It must be Stable across successive cycles of propagation. And it must be Novel, meaning it has not been commercially exploited beyond defined time limits before filing. The variety must also bear a suitable denomination that does not mislead the public.
Three main routes coexist. In France, file with the Instance Nationale des Obtentions Végétales (INOV) ,the French competent authority for plant variety rights, under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, with technical examination performed by GEVES. At European level, file a Community Plant Variety Right with the CPVO in Angers, France, which grants a single right valid across all 27 EU member states. Internationally, the UPOV Convention lets you extend a national filing to over 80 members through a 12-month priority right.
A plant variety certificate is protected for 25 years from grant in most cases, and 30 years for vines, trees and potatoes. The protection is subject to the payment of annual fees and to the variety remaining homogeneous and stable. This long duration matches the typical 8 to 15 years of breeding investment required to develop a commercial variety.
The certificate grants the breeder an exclusive right to authorize the production, reproduction, conditioning, offering for sale, sale, marketing, import, export and stocking for these purposes of the propagating material of the protected variety. Exceptions exist for private and non-commercial use, experimental use, breeding new varieties (the so-called breeder’s exemption), and farm-saved seed under specific conditions (farmer’s privilege).
Yes. A plant variety certificate is a fully transferable intangible asset. It can be assigned (transferred in full) or licensed (exclusive, non-exclusive, territorial, by crop type or by use). Compulsory licenses can also be granted in limited public interest cases. We advise breeders, seed companies and research institutes on licensing structures, royalty models, sub-licensing rights and contractual safeguards to maximize the commercial value of their varieties.
Infringement of a plant variety right (unauthorized production, reproduction, sale or marketing of propagating material) can be addressed through pre-litigation actions (cease and desist letters, customs seizures, evidence gathering through saisie-contrefaçon in France) and judicial actions before specialized courts. Our team assists on both pre-litigation and litigation, in France and through coordinated international actions where the variety is also protected abroad.
No. Our team supports breeders, seed companies, biotech firms and research institutes across the full life cycle of plant variety rights. This covers protection strategy and patentability/protectability analysis upstream of filing, administrative and technical follow-up during the prosecution (including coordination with GEVES and the CPVO), licensing and contractual structuring after grant, and enforcement actions when third parties infringe the rights.
