IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
29 November 2018  
(18-7528) Page: 1/10 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES: INFORM ATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS  
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE PROTECTION O F NEW VARIETIES OF P LANTS (UPOV)  
Addendum  
At its meeting of 8-9 November  2018, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update the information on their technical and financial 
cooperation programmes relating to the implementation of the TRIP S Agreement.  
 
The present document reproduces the information which has been received from the International 
Union for The Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) by means of a communication dated 
27 November  2018. 
 
_______________  
 
 
1.  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.  
2.  Information on membership of UPOV can be found at: http://www.upov.int/members/en/   
3.  The main objectives of UPOV are, in accordance with the UPOV Convention, to:  
a. Provide and develop the legal, administrative and technical basis for international 
cooperation in plant variety protection;  
b. Assist States and organizations in the development of legislation and the implementation 
of an effective plant variety protection system; and  
c. Enhance public awareness and understanding of the UPOV system of plant variety 
protection.  
4.  Information on the techn ical and financial cooperation program mes of UPOV in relation to UPOV 's 
objectives is provided as follows:  
Assistance to States and Organizations in the development of legislation and the implementation of 
an effective plant variety protection system  
Annex  I to this report provides information on UPOV 's activities in relation to the development of 
legislation and the implementation of an effective plant variety protection system for the period 
October 2017 – September 2018 . 
International Cooperation  
Annex II to this report provides information on international cooperation facilitated by UPOV.  
Annex III contains a list of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report . 
_______________IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  ANNEX I1 
UPOV 'S ACTIVITIES IN RELA TION TO THE DEVELOPM ENT OF LEGISLATION A ND  
THE IMPLEMENTATION O F AN EFFECTIVE PLANT  VARIETY PROTECTION SYSTEM  
FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2017 - SEPTE MBER 2018  
Objectives:  
  To raise awareness of the role of plant variety protection according to the 
UPOV  Convention  
 To assist States and organizations, particularly governments of developing 
countries and countries in transition to a market economy, in the 
development of legislation in accordance with the 1991 Ac t of the 
UPOV  Convention.  
 To assist States and organizations in their accession to the 1991 Act of 
the UPOV  Convention.  
 To assist States and organizations in implementing an effective plant 
variety protection system in accordance with the UPOV Convention.  
 
1  ADVICE AND ASSISTANC E IN THE DEVELOPMENT  OF LEGISLATION  
1.  UPOV provided assistance on plant variety protection legislation to the following UPOV members:  
Japan, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.  
2.  UPOV provided advice and assistance on the development of plant variety protection legislation 
according to the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention and/or on the procedure to acc ede to the UPOV 
Convention to: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, 
Kuwait, Lao  People 's Democratic Republic, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nigeria, 
Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Zambia and Zimbabwe . 
2  UPOV AWARENESS -RAISI NG ACTIVITIES, OR AC TIVITIES INVOLVING U POV STAFF OR 
UPOV TRAINERS ON BEH ALF OF UPOV STAFF  
2.1  Activiti es organized by, or with, UPOV:  
• Legal Consultation with relevant officials from the Government of Iran (Islamic Republic 
of); and  
• Seminar on the Plant Variety Protection System - Challenges and opportunities of 
assessing the UPOV Convention, Tehran, Iran (Islamic Republic of) (November 2017)  
• National Awareness Raising Seminar on Plant Variety Protection, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 
(November 2017)  
• Maximizing benefits for farmers through the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, Geneva, 
Switzerland (December 2017)  
• Workshop on drafting legislation in accordance with the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, 
Geneva, Switzerland (December 2017)  
• Briefing session on UPOV for Focal Points of the Permanent Missions in Geneva of Bahrain, 
Djibouti, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Uni ted Arab Emirates, Geneva, Switzerland 
(December 2017)  
• Seminar on the Protection of New Plant Varieties, Hangzhou, China (January 2018)  
• Legal Consultation with the responsible authorities to explain proposed amendments of 
Book Four of the IP Law, Cairo, Eg ypt (January 2018)  
                                                
1 In English only.  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  • Meeting with a Delegation from Myanmar on the legislative process of the PVP Law of 
Myanmar, Roelofarendsveen, Netherlands (March 2018)  
• KOICA/KSVS Training Course on Plant Variety Protection and DUS Testing, Gimcheon, 
Republic of Korea ( May 2018)  
• Seminar on the implementation of the UPOV 1991 Act, Nairobi, Kenya (May 2018)  
• 21st International Course on Plant Variety Protection, Wageningen, Netherlands (June 
2018)  
• High-Level Study Tour on Plant Variety Protection for promoting investments i n Plant 
Breeding, Des Moines, United States of America, and Saskatoon, Canada (June 2018)  
• Seminar on legal protection of new plant varieties, Tashkent, Uzbekistan (June 2018)  
• Forum on the role of UPOV in the development of agriculture, Geneva, Switzerland (June 
2018)  
• International Seminar on the Benefits of Plant Variety Protection under the UPOV System, 
Muntinlupa, Philippines (August 2018)  
• Legal consultations with responsible authorities to provide assistance with the process of 
amending the Protection of  New Plant Varieties Act 2004 of Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia 
(August 2018)  
• Regional Workshop on examination of PVP applications, Lima, Peru (August 2018)  
• Regional Seminar on Plant Variety Protection under the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention: 
benefits of public -private partnerships for transfer of technology, Lima, Peru (August 
2018)  
• World Seed Partnership (WSP) Seminar, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar (September 2018)  
• Legal Consultation with relevant authorities of Myanmar, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar 
(September 2018)  
2.2  Activities/meetings in which UPOV participated:  
• CPVO Administrative Council Meeting, Brussels, Belgium (October 2017)  
• European Seed Association (ESA) Annual Meeting, Riga, Latvia (October 2017)  
• KSVS/KSHS International Symposium on Plant Variety Protection, Inc heon, Republic of 
Korea (October 2017)  
• WIPO/Tongji University Master Degree Program me in Intellectual Property Law (MIP) with 
Specialization in Design, Shanghai, China (October 2017)  
• Meeting of the Council for TRIPS (WTO headquarters), Geneva, Switzerland (October 
2017)  
• Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Intellectual Property (WIPO/University of Turin/ITC -ILO), 
Geneva, Switzerland (October 2017)  
• Meeting with an Indian Delegation, and representatives from CPVO, Germany and 
Netherlands, Geneva, Switzerland (October 20 17) 
• Seventh Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic 
Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), Kigali, Rwanda (October 2017)  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  • IV Plant Variety Rights Intensive Module on Plant Variety Protection, Master of Intellectual 
Property (Magister Lvcentinvs) of the University of Alicante, Spain (November 2017)  
• International Seminar on Agricultural IP Rights, Beijing, China (November 2017)  
• WIPO Regional Forum on "Innovation and Intellectual Property as Engines for Competitive 
Agribusiness: Empowering Women Researchers and Entrepreneurs in Africa ", Casablanca, 
Morocco (November 2017)  
• Asian Seed Congress 2017, Bangkok, Thailand (November 2017)  
• 41st Session of ARIPO 's Administrative Council and 16th Session of ARIPO 's Council of 
Ministers, Lilongwe, Malawi (November 2017)  
• Swiss Data Forum, Lausanne, Switzerland (November 2017)  
• Conference "EPO and CPVO: Supporting innovation in the plant sector ", Brussels, Belgium 
(November 2017)  
• Conference "Intellectual Property Protection for Plant Innovation 2017 ", Amsterdam, 
Netherlands (November 2017)  
• Advanced International Training Program me on "Intellectual Property and Genetic 
Resources - in Support of Innovation ", Geneva, Switzerland (November 2017)  
• ASTA Congress, Chicago, United States of Ame rica (December 2017)  
• 21st Annual Meeting between the CPVO and its Examination Offices, Angers, France 
(December 2017)  
• Fifty-Seventh Session of the Administrative Council of OAPI, Niamey, Niger (December 
2017)  
• AOHE General Assembly, Paris, France (January 2 018) 
• ASTA Vegetable and Flower Seed Conference, San Diego, United States of America 
(January 2018)  
• Ad hoc Working Group Meetings and Technical Working Group Meeting of the OECD Seed 
Schemes, Paris, France (January -February 2018)  
• Workshop on "India-EU colla boration in seed sector development and plant variety 
protection ", New Delhi, India (February 2018)  
• Eighteenth AFSTA Annual Congress, Cairo, Egypt (February -March 2018)  
• ISF Intellectual Property Committee meeting, Zurich, Switzerland (March 2018)  
• CPVO Admi nistrative Council meeting, and meeting with CPVO and ISF, Angers, France 
(March 2018)  
• 15th Edition of the International Career Day, Basel, Switzerland (March 2018)  
• WIPO -WTO Advanced Course on Intellectual Property for Government Officials, Geneva, 
Switzer land (March 2018)  
• Meeting on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and Access and Benefit Sharing, 
Angers, France (March 2018)  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  • Study visit to WIPO of officials from the Department of Industrial Property of Cambodia, 
Geneva, Switzerland (April 2018)  
• Lecture at the Institut Polytechnique LaSalle, Beauvais, France (April 2018)  
• CIOPORA Academy and 57th Annual General Meeting of CIOPORA, Ghent, Belgium (April 
2018)  
• WIPO/UKIPO Roving Seminar: WIPO Services and Initiatives, London, United Kingdom 
(April 2018)  
• Programme Master II en propriété intellectuelle, Yaoundé, Cameroon (May 2018)  
• Advanced Training Programme on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources in Support 
of Innovation, Stockholm, Sweden (May 2018)  
• Study visit to Geneva of students of the Advanced Training Programme on Intellectual 
Property and Genetic Resources in Support of Innovation, Geneva, Switzerland (May 2018)  
• WFO 2018 General Assembly (May 2018)  
• ISF World Seed Congress 2018, Brisbane, Australia (June 2018)  
• WIPO -QUT Master of Laws ( LL.M) in Intellectual Property, Brisbane, Australia (June 2018)  
• SeedConnect Conference, Abuja, Nigeria (June 2018)  
• Plant Variety Protection Debates: Connecting Law, Science and Social Science, Warwick, 
United Kingdom (June 2018)  
• Eighth edition of the Annua l Agri-Food Law Seminar, Brussels, Belgium (June 2018)  
• WIPO -WTO Colloquium for Teachers of Intellectual Property, Geneva, Switzerland 
(June  2018)  
• Awareness -raising Workshop on Industrial Property, Dijon, France (June 2018)  
• Ad-Hoc Working Group Meetings, Te chnical Working Group Meeting and Annual Meeting 
of the OECD Seed Schemes, Paris, France (June 2018)  
• Study Visit to WIPO of the Attorney General and Minister for Justice and Senior 
Government Officials of Ghana, Geneva, Switzerland (July 2018)  
• WTO National  Seminar on Certain Aspects of the TRIPS Agreement, Amman, Jordan (July 
2018)  
• First Edition of the WIPO Summer Course on Intellectual Property [participation via video 
conference], Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (July 2018)  
• JICA Training Course "Plant Variety Prot ection and Quality Control System of Seeds to 
Facilitate Distribution of High Quality Seeds ", Tsukuba, Japan (July 2018)  
• Ninth Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Plant Genetic 
Resources for Food and Agriculture, Rome, Italy (July 2 018) 
• Eleventh Annual Meeting of the East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum, Muntinlupa, 
Philippines (August 2018)  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  • Conference on "Encouraging Plant Breeding, Challenges and Perspectives ", at the official 
launch of the Erasmus Mundus Master Program me in Plant Breeding - emPLANT, Beauvais, 
France (August 2018)  
• Seminar on Breeders ' Rights under the UPOV Convention and benefits for the promotion 
of public -private partnerships and transfer of technology, Quito, Ecuador (August 2018)  
• CIOPORA Academy Workshop, Wa shington D. C., United States of America (September 
2018)  
• First meeting of the Ad Hoc  Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Farmers ' Rights of the 
ITPGRFA, Rome, Italy (September 2018)  
• CPVO Administrative Committee meeting, and CPVO Seminar on the Benefits of Plant 
Variety Protection, Sofia, Bulgaria (September 2018)  
• Advanced Training Programme on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources in Support 
of Innovation, Geneva, Switzerland (September 2018)  
• Celebration of 60th Anniversary of Establishment of Agricul ture Research Institute of 
Beijing and Workshop on Plant Variety Protection, Beijing, China (September 2018)  
• Fourth National Seed Committee meeting, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar (September 2018)  
3  PARTICIPATION IN UPO V DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES DL -205 "INTRODUCTION TO 
THE UPOV SYSTEM OF P LANT VARIETY PROTECT ION UNDER THE UPOV  CONVENTION " 
AND DL -305 "EXAMINATION OF APPLI CATIONS FOR PLANT BR EEDERS ' RIGHTS " 
(INCLUDING DL -305, D L-305A AND DL -305B)  
3.1  Countries  from which there were participants in the UPOV distance learning  courses 
(Session II, 2017 and Session I, 2018 ) 
Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, 
Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, 
France, Ge orgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran , Italy, 
Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, 
New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic o f Korea, 
Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, 
Sweden, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Tanzania, 
United  States of America, Viet Nam, Zambia, CPVO (European  Union), FAO, OAPI, WTO (68 countries 
and four organizations).  
3.2  Total number of participants in UPOV distance learning courses (Session II, 2017 and 
Session I, 2018)  
Category  Number of participants  
DL-205 DL-305 DL-305A DL-305B 
Government officials of members of the Union  227 85 73 55 
Officials of observer States / intergovernmental 
organizations  34 6 6 4 
Total:  261 91 79 59 
 IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  3.3  Special sessions of the DL -205 course "Introduction to the UPOV System of Plant 
Variety Protection under the UPOV Convention " (September 2017 - September 2018 ) 
Month/Year  Name of Course  Number of 
participants  
Sept. 2017  Máster Lvcentinvs in Plant Variety Protection, Alicante 
University, Spain  42 
May 2018  La Salle Beauvais University - IP Plant Breeding Master 
Programme  7 
May 2018 OAPI Masters IP Training Course  24 
May 2018  Forum on the role of UPOV in the development of agriculture  2 
May 2018  KOICA Training Course on Plant Variety Protection  9 
June 2018  Naktuinbouw International Course on Plant Variety Protection 
Course  6 
July 2018  JICA Training Course "Internationally Harmonized Plant 
Variety Protection System " 2 IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  ANNEX II1 
INTERNATIONAL COOPER ATION FACILITATED BY  UPOV  
1.  UPOV facilitates cooperation in the examination of plant varieties as follows:  
a. Document C/52/5 "Cooperation in Examination " contains a synopsis of offers for 
cooperation in examination made by authorities, of cooperation already established 
between authorities and of any envisaged cooperation.  
(see https://www.upov.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=48108 ) 
b. Document TC/54/4 "List of Genera and Species for which Authorities have Practical 
Experience in the Examination of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability " provides 
information on plant genera and species for which authorities have practical experience in 
the examination of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS).  
(see https://www.upov.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=48107 ) 
c. UPOV has developed "Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness, Uniformity and 
Stability, " or "Test Guidelines ", for many individual species or other variety groupings (see 
https://www.upov.int/test_guidelines/en/ ). The purpose of these Test Guidelines is to 
provide practical guidance for the harmonized examination of DUS and, in particular, to 
identify appropriate characteris tics for the examination of DUS and production of 
harmonized variety descriptions. In 2017, the adopted Test Guidelines covered 94% of all 
entries concerning plant variety protection in the PLUTO Plant Variety Database (280,687 
of 299,031).  
d. The GENIE datab ase provides a dynamic source of information on the cooperation 
explained above. (see https://www.upov.int/genie/en/ ) 
e. The PLUTO Plant Variety Database provides information concerning plant breeders ' rights.  
(see https://www.upov.int/pluto/en/ ) 
f. UPOV PRISMA is an online, multi -lingual tool for making plant breeders ' rights ' applications 
in participating UPOV members. UPOV PRISMA currently has 30 participating UPOV 
members, covering 69 countries  
(see http://www.upov.int/upovprisma/en/index.html ) 
 
                                                
1 In English only.  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  ANNEX III1 
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVI ATIONS  
UPOV terms   
DL-205 UPOV distance learning course "Introduction to the UPOV System of Plant Variety Protection 
under the UPOV Convention " 
DL-305 UPOV distance learning course "Examination of Applications for Plant Breeders ' Rights " 
DL-305A UPOV distance learning course "Administration of Plant Breeders ' Rights "  
(part A of DL -305) 
DL-305B UPOV distance learning course "DUS Examination " 
(part B of DL -305) 
DUS Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability  
EAF (see also UPOV 
PRISMA)  UPOV Electronic Application Form  
PBR Plant Breeder 's Right  
TC Technical Committee  
TWC Technical Working Party on Automation and Computer Programs  
UPOV PRISMA  UPOV PRISMA PBR Application Tool  
WSP World Seed Partnership  
 
Acronyms   
AECID  Spanish Agency for Cooperation and Economic Development  
AFSTA  African Seed Trade Association  
Agroscope  Swiss centre of excellence for agricultural research  
AOHE  Association of European Horticultural Breeders  
AOSA  Association of Official Seed Analyst  
APBREBES  Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society  
APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation  
APEC-IPEG Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group of the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation  
APSA  Asia and Pacific Seed Association  
ARIPO  African Regional Intellectual Property Organization  
CARICOM  Caribbean Community  
CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research  
CGRFA  Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture  
CIMMYT  International Consortium for the Improvement of Maize  
CIOPORA  International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Varieties  
CIP International Potato Center  
CORAF (see also 
WECARD)  Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles  
CPVO  Community Plant Variety Office of the European Union  
EAPVP Forum  East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum  
EIPIN  European Intellectual Property Institutes Network  
ESA European Seed Association  
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations  
GNIS  
IDB-REACH  Caribbean Regional Entrepreneurial Asset Commercialization  Hub of the Inter -American 
Development Bank  
IPAN Intellectual Property Awareness Network  
                                                
1 In English only.  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.6  
 
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  Acronyms   
ISF International Seed Federation  
ISRA Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles  
ISTA International Seed Testing Association  
ITC International Trade Center  
ITC-ILO International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization  
ITPGRFA  International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture  
ITRA Institut Togolais de la Recherche Agricole  
JATAFF  Japan Association for Techno -innovation in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries  
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency  
KEPHIS  Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service  
KOICA  Korea International Cooperation Agency  
KSVS  Korea Seed and Variety Service  
MAFF (of Japan)  Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan  
MARD (of Viet Nam)  Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Viet Nam  
NARO (of Japan)  National Agriculture and Food Research Organization  
OAPI African Intellectual Property Organization  
OECD  Organisation for Economic Co -Operation and Development  
OEVV  Spanish Plant Variety Office  
PIPRA  Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture  
SAA Seed Association of the Americas  
TAIEX  Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) of the European  Union  
TRIPS  Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights  
TWN Third World Network  
UN United Nations  
UNCTAD  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development  
UNIGE  University of Geneva  
USDA  United  States Department of Agriculture  
USPTO  United States Patent and Trademark Office  
WECARD (see also 
CORAF)  West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development  
WFO World Farmers ' Organization  
WIPO  World Intellectual Property Organization  
WIPO IGC  WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, 
Traditional Knowledge and Folklore  
WTO World Trade Organization  
 
 
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