Hamburg, Germany
August 27, 2012

There is no better way to put the importance of effective IP protection into the spotlight as to bring the IP expertise to a place, on which the glances of the horticultural industry were fixed in summer of 2012. The CIOPORA Conference on Patents and modern PBR in Horticultural Breeding, which will take place on September 20 in Venlo, the home of the Floriade 2012, will remind the industry stakeholders about the current situation in IP protection for plant innovations and its persisting problems.

The Agenda of the Conference foresees two sessions, which will shed light onto the most anticipated topics in the field of Intellectual Property Protection for the innovation-based horticultural businesses.

The morning session, chaired by the President of CIOPORA Andrea Mansuino, will concentrate on the Plant Breeders’ Rights. The session will focus on the questions of minimal distances, breeders’ exemption and the concept of EDV. The morning session will provide the participants with an excellent opportunity to engage in an open debate on these topics during the panel discussion. The nourishment for dispute will be richly provided in the presentations by such experts of the sector as Lars Henriksen, PLA International, Bart Kiewiet, the former President of CPVO, and Joris Nicolleau, International Fruit Obtention.

The afternoon session of the Conference will focus on Patents for plant related innovations opened with a report on the current tensions and debates around the subject by, Niels Louwaars, the Director of Plantum. A company position on protection of plant related innovations by means of Patents will be expressed in the presentation of Dr. Ulf Schaberg, Syngenta. Finally, a comprehensive overview of the current legal situation in Patents and possible solutions for the persisting problems will be provided by one of the leading experts on IP worldwide Prof. Dr. Joseph Straus, the Director Emeritus of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Munich. The afternoon session will be wrapped up in another panel discussion, where the attendees will be invited to grab the microphone for a productive exchange of opinions.

The registration form for the Conference is available at the CIOPORA.org or upon request via email under info@ciopora.org. CIOPORA is looking forward to meeting the industry in Venlo.

CIOPORA is the International Association of Breeders of Vegetatively Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Varieties. Breeders of such crops hold ca. 2/3 of all PVR titles in the world. Since more than 50 years CIOPORA represents them in all matters of Intellectual Property Protection.

Website: http://www.ciopora.org

Published: August 27, 2012