Belgrade, Serbia
January 11, 2013

On January 5, 2013, Republic of Serbia became the 71st member of the International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).

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The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is an intergovernmental organization with headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland). UPOV was established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. The Convention was adopted in Paris in 1961 and it was revised in 1972, 1978 and 1991.UPOV's mission is to provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of society.

In order to become a full member of UPOV, Serbia had to harmonize its legislation and system of plant breeder rights and protections with UPOV Convention (adopted in 1991). In 2009, Serbia adopted a new Law on Protection of Plant Breeders Rights/UPOV, in 2010 it adopted a Law on Confirmation of the UPOV Convention, and in 2011 it adopted a Law on Amendments on Changes of Law on Protection of Plant Breeders’ Rights/UPOV. Serbia also adopted these laws to harmonize its regulations with European Union legislation and with the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization.

By adopting the appropriate legislation and becoming a UPOV member with an obligation to regulate protection of intellectual property rights of plant variety breeders, Serbian breeders can now cooperate with plant breeders from other member countries and reduce their costs for plant variety protection. Also by becoming a UPOV member, Serbia is fulfilling the international conditions for domestic breeders to internationally register new plant varieties, as well as providing an opportunity to expand foreign markets for domestic seed and planting materials and setting up better conditions to protect varieties in the domestic market; all of which may encourage more foreign investment in Serbia in the future.

Website: http://www.ers.usda.gov/

Published: January 25, 2013