Plant varieties

The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) is responsible for administering the Community plant variety protection system.

Given the close relationship between the CPVO and the Registers of Protected Varieties and Commercial Varieties, no technical identification examination mechanism was created, as the existing resources in the various Member States could be used.

For this reason, the CPVO requests the OEVV to carry out technical examinations (technical trials) and to acquire reports on trials carried out by the OEVV.

Therefore, the Spanish Plant Variety Office (OEVV) is recognized as an examination office of the CPVO.

Community protection of plant varieties is valid for 25 or 30 years, depending on the plant species concerned.

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Plant variety protection at European level is covered by EC Regulation 2100/1994 of July 27 on Community plant variety rights. At European level, a single protection title is created for the European Union, so that the interested party can submit a single application to obtain protection for that variety throughout the Community (27 member states).

• Detailed description of the variety.
• The method of varietal conservation proposed by the breeder, or by the applicant when the breeder has no interest in the application.
• Indications of the most suitable ecological conditions for its cultivation.
• If the applicant is the successor of the breeder, reliable documentation of their succession.
• If the applicant is neither the breeder nor their successor, a document certifying the authorization granted by them.
• Document of payment of the processing and resolution fee (083).

The purpose of the agronomic value test is to verify that the variety, when compared with other varieties accepted in the Register of Commercial Varieties, represents, in terms of its overall qualities, at least when grown in a specific area, a clear improvement, whether in relation to its cultivation, productivity, use, or the use of products derived from it. Inferiority in some of its characteristics may be offset by others that are favorable.

Unlike the registration of protected varieties (where a novelty study is required), the registration of commercial varieties requires agronomic value testing for some species.

One of the functions of this registry is to promote and make available to farmers seeds and nursery plants of varieties that are increasingly productive and better adapted to the different climate and soil conditions in Spain. Registration in this registry grants a “trade permit,” although it is true that not all species are required to be registered in the commercial registry.

Technical examination refers to all field and laboratory work, and its purpose is to ensure that the material of the variety is distinct, stable, and uniform in comparison with the other varieties in the reference collection. The purpose of these tests is to:

• To verify that the variety belongs to the botanical taxon described.
• Determine that it is distinct, uniform, and stable.
• To establish an official description of the variety.

This register includes varieties that have passed technical tests, making them suitable for Spanish agro-climatic conditions.

• A reliable document proving, where applicable, the title of succession.
• Authorization from the breeder when the commercial production of plants or propagation material of the variety subject to protection requires the repeated or systematic use of whole plants or parts of plants corresponding to another protected variety.
• When acting through a representative, a reliable document certifying them as such, providing the necessary information for the purposes of launching and settling fees, when the applicants are foreigners not resident in the national territory.
• Affidavit specifying that the variety for which protection is sought is distinct, uniform, and stable, and that it has not been exploited with the authorization of the breeder in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.
• If the variety has been exploited, a document stating the first date of exploitation, the deliveries made for experimentation, and the competitions in which it has been presented.
• Technical description of the variety in accordance with the technical form for varietal description provided by the Spanish Plant
• Variety Office for each species.
• If priority is claimed, a document containing the information required for its acceptance.
• Document proving payment of the processing and resolution fee (045).

The requirements for plant variety protection are:

Novelty: the variety must not have been sold or transferred to third parties, but if it has been, the following time periods must not have elapsed:

• 1 year, if the sale or transfer took place in Spain.
• 4 years, if the sale or transfer took place outside Spain, extending to 6 years for woody varieties and vines.

Distinctness: the variety must be clearly distinguishable (in one or more characteristics) from other existing and known varieties.

Homogeneity: the variety must maintain its most relevant hereditary characteristics uniformly.

Stability: the variety shall be considered stable if its specific characteristics remain unchanged after reproduction or multiplication.

The general rule is 25 years, and in the case of woody plants and vines, it is extended to 30 years.

Plant variety protection has a positive impact on the national economy and, in particular, on the agricultural sector, as it stimulates research in this sector and allows farmers access to new technologies.

From a market perspective, it increases the competitiveness of agricultural products. Both Spanish law and EU regulations require the authorization of the breeder for the production, reproduction, sale, export, import, and other activities involving the protected variety.

The company may apply for protected plant variety status in each country where it wishes to obtain protection. In Spain, the Spanish Plant Variety Office (OEVV) (part of the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs) is responsible for regulating all matters relating to the obtaining, characterization, and evaluation of plant varieties, and their inclusion in the Register of Varieties (Commercial and Protected). The Spanish Plant Variety Office (OEVV) has two closely related legal institutions, the Register of Protected Varieties and the Register of Commercial Varieties.

By registering the variety in the Register of Protected Varieties, the company will receive a Plant Variety Title that will grant it the exclusive right to:

• Production or reproduction.
• Conditioning for the purposes of reproduction or multiplication.
• Offering for sale.
• Sale or any other form of commercialization.
• Export.
• Importation.
• Possession for any of the aforementioned purposes.

As mentioned above, the study of novelty ( ) is an essential requirement for protection.

As mentioned above, the study of novelty is an essential requirement for protection.

Plant varieties are a type of intellectual property (breeder’s rights) that protects inventions applied to the plant kingdom by recognizing the rights of breeders of new plant varieties.

In particular, the law defines plant varieties as a set of plants of a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which can be:

• Be defined by the expression of the characteristics of a certain genotype.
• Be distinguished from another set of plants by the expression of one of these characteristics.
• Be considered as a unit, taking into account its ability to propagate without alteration.