[vc_row el_class=”riga-servizi”][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Plant breeding<\/strong>\u00a0or the search, selection and crossing of plants in order to obtain more resistant and productive varieties, is an essential activity in the current context of an ever-growing world population and the challenges presented by climate change.<\/p>\n In order precisely to encourage this activity, both Spanish and European legislators have provided for a series of mechanisms aimed at the protection of new plant varieties, with a view to\u00a0safeguarding the investment and effort involved in plant breeding<\/strong>.<\/p>\n These instruments are embodied in the\u00a0plant variety registers<\/strong>\u00a0foreseen by Spanish Law 3\/2000 of January 7 on the Legal regime for the protection of plant varieties (at the national level) and by Council Regulation (EC) No. 2100\/94 of July 27, 1994, on Community plant variety rights (at the European level).<\/p>\n It should be pointed out that, although both protection instruments coexist at European level,\u00a0the applicant must choose at the time of application between European and national protection<\/strong>, since the two cannot coexist.<\/p>\n As to the object of protection, varieties of all botanical genera and species (including hybrids between genera and species) may be protected, irrespective of the breeding method and provided that the requirements for protection are met. These\u00a0requirements<\/strong>\u00a0are:<\/p>\n The first three requirements are of a technical nature and are linked to the phenotypic characteristics of the variety. These requirements are assessed through the growing of the variety during the so-called\u00a0DUS test<\/strong>\u00a0carried out at the corresponding examination offices. For their part, both the novelty and the proposed denomination are assessed by the examination offices during the substantive examination of the application.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”7631″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]The protection of plant varieties confers an\u00a0exclusive right<\/strong>\u00a0to their holder, which basically means the possibility of preventing the following non-authorised acts:<\/p>\n As for the\u00a0duration of the exclusive right<\/strong>, the general term is 25 years from the grant of protection, which is extended to 30 years in the case of trees and vines (and potatoes, in the European system of protection).[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n\n
\n
How can inmentor help breeders of new plant varieties?<\/h2>\n