In the United States, the intellectual property rights system for plants is multifaceted, encompassing utility patents, plant patents, trademarks, and Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Certificates. These mechanisms offer...more
In October 2023, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) published a long-awaited updated Explanatory Note on Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs). The UPOV Convention outlines a popular...more
On Thursday, January 25, 2024, the U.S. Plant Variety Protection Office (U.S. PVPO) announced that the Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) Offices of Canada and Japan are now accepting Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS)...more
On April 3, 2023, the U.S. Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) held a preparatory session for the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Technical Working Party for Vegetables (TWV) and...more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) has waived the deposit requirement for asexually reproduced plants until further notice due to “continued and ongoing technical challenges and...more
Plant Variety Protection (PVP) is a form of intellectual property protection administered through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for new varieties of plants....more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA") announced that it will accept plant variety protection applications from breeders of seed-propagated hemp. This is a major step forward for the industry and will allow...more
Recent developments following the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill have now made it easier for hemp growers to protect their genetics. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp as a Schedule I substance. (See January 2019 Cooley Alert.)...more
The Green Revolution of the 20th century increased agricultural production worldwide primarily through high-yielding plant varieties. However, in order to sustainably feed the estimated 9 billion people who will inhabit the...more