Ornamental, fruit, and Cannabis breeders gather in Cologne to discuss IP challenges

Over 100 breeders, lawyers, and IP experts from over 20 countries met at CIOPORA’s Annual General Meeting in Cologne, Germany (25-27 April 2022) to discuss the latest challenges in IP protection for plants and how to increase the enforcement of the rights worldwide. By CIOPORA’s Communications Director, Andrés Velásquez, for FloraCulture International in June 2022.

Essentially Derived Varieties (EDV), the key role of China in Intellectual Property (IP) matters, and new market opportunities with Cannabis were just part of the vogue subjects discussed during three days at CIOPORA’s 61st Annual General Meeting (AGM), one of the most important instances to learn and know about the latest trends of breeders’ innovations and Intellectual Property protection.

CIOPORA AGM attendees group picture.

Knowledge sharing and networking

“I am delighted with the enthusiasm of our members to be part of the first post-Corona CIOPORA AGM. More than 100 like-minded people came together in Cologne and were provides not only with useful information about IP Protection but also many networking possibilities,” says the Secretary General of CIOPORA, Dr Edgar Krieger.

The three-day journey started with The CIOPORA Academy, a full day of lectures about IP, Enforcement, and PVR. On the second day’s morning, the attendees had the opportunity to discuss the main concerns of different sectors in small thematic groups, such as Cut Roses, Fruit, and Ornamental Flowers.

Breeders’ Enforcement Agency (BEA)

In the afternoon, an internal discussion took place between the members of the association in which they gave the green light for further work on the creation of a Breeders’ Enforcement Agency (BEA). “The idea is to establish and offer highly qualified enforcement services to breeders; working with well-qualified parties to ensure breeders have access to consistent, pragmatic support in enforcing their IP Rights,” says Dr Krieger.

IP and Enforcement Symposium

The AGM 2022 ended with an IP & Enforcement Symposium with 11 speakers from different countries addressing key core issues for the industry like Enforcement, New Breeding Techniques, IP Development in China and the USA, Plant Variety Rights in New Zealand, and many more.
CIOPORA aims to ensure that Plant Breeders’ Rights are fair, effective, and enforceable, enabling breeders to develop new varieties that can cope with a changing environment and ensure sustainably produced products for an ever-growing population.