The Community Plant Variety Office : protecting new plant varieties in Europe since 1995.
Date: 2020-04-01
Institutions: Community Plant Variety Office
Subjects: Community Plant Variety Office, EU activity, agronomic research, horticulture, intellectual property, plant breeding, plant variety right

The Community 
Plant Variety Office 

Protecting 
New Plant Varieties 
in Europe since 1995

CPVO: managing the EU-wide regime of IP 
protection for new plant varieties 

Alongside  the  CPVO,  a  Board  of  Appeal  comprising 
independent  members  (a  chairperson  nominated  by 
the  Council  of  the  European  Union  and  two  other 
members) is responsible for deciding on appeals made 
against decisions taken by the CPVO. Actions against 
the  decisions  of  the  Board  of  Appeal  can  be  lodged 
before the Court of Justice of the European Union in 
Luxembourg.

The  Community  Plant  Variety  Office  (CPVO)  is  the 
EU  agency  responsible  for  the  management  of  the 
Community  Plant  Variety  Rights  System.  Located  in 
Angers, France, the CPVO was created by the Council 
Regulation  2100/94  and  has  been  operational  since 
April 1995.

The  CPVO  is  a  self-financing  European  Union  agency 
with  independent  legal  status.  It  collects  fees  for  the 
activities  it  conducts.  The  CPVO  is  supervised  by  an 
Administrative Council composed of representatives of 
the Member States and of the European Commission, 
as  well  as  observers.  The  Administrative  Council  lays 
down  general  guidelines,  monitors  activities,  adopts 
the budget and watches over the accounts.

The CPVO is managed by its President who is assisted 
by a Vice-President; both are appointed by the Council 
of  the  European  Union.  The  CPVO  currently  employs 
about  50  staff  members  of  various  EU  nationalities, 
in  different  units  and  support  services,  including  an 
independent Quality Audit Service which monitors the 
compliance and efficiency of decentralised examination 
offices.

 
 
Managing Plant Variety Rights in Europe

The  CPVO’s  main  task  is  to  administer  the  Plant 
Variety Rights System in Europe. This system, which is 
the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  provides  intellectual 
property protection for new plant varieties (also known as 
Community Plant Variety Right, CPVR).

Since  its  creation  in  1995  the  CPVO  has  received  over        
68  000  applications,  and  has  granted  over  53  000 
titles from wich over 28 000 titles were in force on 31st 
December 2019.

As  with  other  intellectual  property  rights,  protecting 
research  and  creativity  in  the  field  of  plant  varieties  is 
a  strategic  goal  for  breeders,  who  need  to  invest  in  the 
creation of new varieties that satisfy market requirements.  

 CPVO’s Mission 

"To deliver and 
promote an efficient 
Intellectual Property Rights 
system that supports 
the creation of new 
plant varieties for the 
benefit of society ".

In addition, plant varieties have a great role to play in 
addressing  today’s  sustainable  challenges  at  global 
level.  Plant  breeding  innovation  clearly  contributes  to 
the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. It also helps 
to deliver on the EU Green Deal objectives and on the EU 
Farm-to-Fork strategy. For instance, innovation in plant 
breeding enables farmers to grow healthy plants using 
less  natural  resources,  such  as  water  and  soil  surface, 
or  resisting  to  harsher  climatic  conditions  and  more 
aggressive pests and diseases.

The  European  Union’s  system  of  protection  for  plant 
varieties, which is based on the principles of the 1991 act 
of the International Convention for the Protection of New 
Varieties  of  Plants,  contributes  to  the  development  of 
agriculture and horticulture. By stimulating innovation 
and research, the EU system promotes the development 
of new varieties in the marketplace. 

Breeders  cannot  merely  rely  on  supplying  existing 
varieties.  To  maintain  business,  new  varieties  meeting 
enhanced  quality,  disease-resistance,  productivity  and 
environmental  criteria  need  to  be  created.  The  CPVR 
system  incorporates  the  principle  of  the  breeders’ 
exemption,  which  guarantees  free  access  to  protected 
varieties  for  the  development  and  exploitation  of  new 
plant varieties.

The CPVR system is a concrete response to all of these 
requirements; it provides an intellectual property right for 
new plant varieties that is valid throughout the European 
Union. Prior to 1995, a breeder willing to protect a new 
variety  in  the  entire  European  Union  had  to  submit  a 
separate application in each of the EU Member States.

 
What is a Community Plant Variety Right ?

Protecting a new plant variety entails granting exclusive 
rights for the exploitation of the variety. The protection 
system  is  technically  and  legally  complex,  but  the 
application procedure is simple. 

When should I file a CPVR 
application ? 

What is protectable as a CPVR? 
A CPVR is an IP right that grants an exclusive right in 
relation to a plant variety, provided that the latter complies 
with  the  legal  requirements  for  protection  provided  by 
Council  Regulation  2100/1994  (the  “Basic  Regulation”).  A 
protectable plant variety must be distinct, uniform and stable 
(DUS requirements), as well as new. Furthermore, it should be 
identified with a suitable denomination and the registration 
fees must be paid. 

CPVRs grant their owners a right to prevent third 
parties from the following acts in respect of variety 
constituents (propagating material): 

•   
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  

Production or reproduction (multiplication); 
Conditioning for the purpose of propagation; 
Offering for sale; 
Selling or other marketing; 
Exporting from the EU; 
Importing to the EU; 
Stocking for any of the purposes mentioned. 

The application must be filed before the variety is put 
on  the  market  or  within  the  novelty  grace  periods 
indicated by the law. Indeed, a CPVR can be granted if 
the  variety  is  novel,  meaning  that  variety  constituents 
or  harvested  material  of  the  applied-for  variety  were  not 
physically  transferred  for  the  purpose  of  commercial 
exploitation with the breeder‘s consent: 

• Within the EU for more than one year before the date 
of application; 

•  Outside the EU for more than four (4) years or, in the 
case of trees and vines six (6) years, prior to the date of 
application. 

The person who first files a valid application for a given 
CPVR can become the right holder  (first-to-file principle). 
It  is  also  possible  to  maintain  the  date  of  a  national  PVR 
application, provided that the application at EU level is done 
within 12 months from the date of first filing in relation to the 
same variety.

Who can file a CPVR 
application?

A  CPVR  application  may  be  filed  by  any  natural 
or legal person. For applicants not having a domicile, 
seat  or  establishment  within  the  territory  of  the  EU  it 
is  mandatory  to  appoint  a  procedural  representative 
domiciled  in  the  EU  to  file  the  CPVR  application.  The 
applicant should be the breeder, i.e. the person who bred, 
or discovered and developed the variety, or his successor 
in title. The breeder can transfer the entitlement to apply 
for and to hold CPVRs in the name of the applicant. If the 
breeder is not the applicant, a deed of assignment must 

be provided.

Where and how do I file 
an application for a CPVR? 

Applications  can  be  filed  online  on  the  CPVO 
website or through one of the national plant variety 
protection (PVP) offices. Applications to the CPVO and 
supporting documents must be filed in one of the official 
languages of the EU. The e-filing service provided by the 
CPVO  is  currently  available  in  English,  Dutch,  French, 
Spanish, and German.

What happens after 
filing a CPVR 
application ?

How do I check the availability 
of a variety denomination?

You can use Variety Finder, the CPVO online database 
which includes relevant data of national and CPVRs and 
commercial registers both in the EU and outside the EU. 

Priority 
period

0 month
First filing, if 
any  (priority 
date)

12 months
CPVR 
application

Provisional 
protection
(following the 
granting of the 
application date and 
its official publication 
by the CPVO)

Technical 
examination 
(DUS) 

DUS can last 
between 1 & 6 
years

Reception 
of technical  
examination 
report

Examination 
of the variety 
denomination

Grant of 
CPVR
or 
Refusal

What happens after filing a CPVR 
application?

1-  Formal  and  substantive  examinations  by 
the  CPVO  (e.g.  completeness  of  the  application, 
novelty,  entitlement  and  credentials  of  procedural 
representatives).  If  successful,  an  application  date  is 
granted and the application is published on the CPVO 
Official  Gazette,  an  official  publication  prepared  and 
made  available  every  second  month  on  the  CPVO 
website. 

2-  Technical  examination  (DUS):    The  purpose  of 
these  examinations  is  to  ensure  that  the  criteria  of 
distinctness,  uniformity  and  stability  are  metThe 
duration  varies  from  1  year  for  most  ornamental 
species  to  6  years  for  certain  fruit  tree  varieties.  The 
applicant will be required to provide the plant material 
of  the  variety  to  be  tested  by  an  appointed  national 
authority. 

3-  Examination  of  the  suitability  of  the  variety 
denomination by the CPVO the candidate variety must 
be designated by a variety denomination which is also 
subject to testing by the CPVO.

4- Decision of the grant of the title and the CPVR 
certificate by the CPVO, wich is published in the Official 

Gazette.

Practical steps

Checking an application

The CPVO checks that the application is complete 
and eligible. If no obstacle prevents the grant of 
a CPVR, a provisional protection is given through 
the granting of the application date and its official 
publication by the CPVO. Afterwards, the CPVO 
takes the necessary measures for organising the 
carrying out of a technical examination of the 
candidate variety.

Variety denomination

Apart from the previous requirements, the 
candidate variety must be designated by a 
variety denomination which is also subject to 
testing by the CPVO.

Filling an application

The applicant files an application for protection either directly 
through the CPVO or through one of the national offices which 
subsequently transfers it to the CPVO.

Technical examination

The  aim  of  the  technical  examination  is  to  verify  that  the 
variety  is  distinct  from  others,  uniform  in  its  characteristics 
and stable in the long run. The duration of the examination 
varies from one year for most ornamental species to six years 
for certain fruit tree varieties.

Grant of title

Once the CPVO considers that the examination results are 
satisfactory and that all the other requirements have been 
fulfilled,  it  grants  a  Community  Plant  Variety  Right  for  a 
period of 25 years, or up to 30 years for vines, potatoes and 
trees.

Technical examinations

The first task of the CPVO is to verify that the application 
is complete and eligible. The CPVO studies if the variety 
is in fact novel and if the other legal requirements have 
been fulfilled, such as entitlement to the variety for which 
protection is sought. If no formal impediment to granting 
a CPVR is found, the candidate variety receives provisional 
protection  through  the  granting  of  the  application  date 
and its official publication by the CPVO.
The purpose of technical examinations is to ensure 
that  the  criteria  of  distinctness,  uniformity  and 
stability are fulfilled. 

It is crucial that the variety submitted meets these three 
conditions.These  technical  examinations  are  entrusted 
to competent bodies. They are conducted in accordance 
with protocols established by the CPVO and are monitored 
by CPVO’s technical experts. Accordingly, the variety for 
which  protection  is  sought  is  compared  with  existing 
varieties of the same species.

D
U
S

Distinctness  

The variety must be clearly 
distinguishable from any other 
variety of common knowledge at the 
date of application.    

Uniformity  
The variety is considered to be 
'uniform' if it is uniform in the 
expression of its characteristics.   

Stability 
The variety is considered to be 
'stable' if it remains unchanged 
after repeated propagation.

Benefits of the system

One single application 
to cover the territory 
of all the EU Member 
States.

Less time and money spent 
in comparison to individual 
application filing in each EU 
Member State.

Easier management 
of the application and 
post-application processes thanks 
to a unique contact point.

How much does it cost ?

Application fees

450¤

for online applications

Examination fees

1 900¤
3 900¤

up to

Annual fees

330¤

per variety and per 
year of protection

Fees for taking 
over* reports

320¤

Appeal fees

1 500¤

Other fees :

i.e administrative fees 
such as for issuing 
certified documents 
of the recordal of new 
entries in the Register

Please note that these fees 
apply as of 1st April 2020.

* When a technical examination 
has already been carried out, or is 
in the process of being carried out, 
on a variety already benefiting from 
national protection in a EU Member 
State, the CPVO may consider the 
examination reports of the responsible 
authorities to be a sufficient basis for 
a decision on a CPVR application.

How long does the protection last ?

The  CPVR  protection  runs 
until  the  end  of  the  25th 
calendar year following the 
year of grant, and until the 
end  of  the  30th  calendar 
year for potatoes, vine and 
tree  species,  provided  that 
the annual fees are paid.

Example :

Granting 
date of 
the CPVR 
15.03.2020

Granting 
date of the 
CPVR
15.03.2020

25 years protection

Expiration 
of the CPVR 
31.12.2045

for most varieties

or

30 years protection

for potatoes, vine and tree species

Expiration 
of the CPVR 
31.12.2050

* Please note that these figures reflect 
CPVO’s numbers on 31st December 2019

The red dots represent CPVO’s DUS examination 
office network in the European Union

cpvo.europa.eu

@CPVOTweets

Community Plant Variety Office

CPVO Youtube Channel

Contact us

3 boulevard Maréchal Foch 
• CS 10121 49101 ANGERS 
CEDEX 2 • FRANCE 

• Tel. +33 (0)2 41 25 64 00
• Fax +33 (0)2 41 25 64 10 
• cpvo@cpvo.europa.eu 

Luxembourg: Publications Office 
of the European Union, 2020

PDF  ISBN 978-92-9152-204-0  doi:10.2803/302905 TG-01-20-202-EN-N
© Community Plant Variety Office, 2020
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Thank you to all partner organisations who are working on a daily basis with the CPVO to promote intellectual property protection for 
new plant varieties. The CPVO is thankful, in particular, to the European IP Helpdesk who has contributed to the content of this leaflet.
http://www.iprhelpdesk.eu/