Apply for plant variety protection

Source: Serviceportal Rheinland-Pfalz

If you have bred or discovered a new plant variety, you can apply for plant variety protection from the Federal Plant Variety Office (BSA). Plant variety protection is an exclusive right comparable to a patent and protects the intellectual property of new plant varieties.

A plant variety is eligible for protection if it has a variety denomination that can be registered. In addition, it must:

be different from other plant varieties,
homogeneous,
stable and
be new.

Upon your application, the BSA will check whether all these conditions are met.

If you are granted plant variety protection, only you are authorized to market plants, plant parts or seeds of the protected variety for commercial purposes:

to place on the market,
to produce
import and
to store.

You can submit your application for plant variety protection to the BSA online, by post or by fax.

Online:

Go to the BSA website and complete the application form.
To be able to use the form, you will need
- your breeder number (published in the Plant Variety Bulletin) and
- a password (will be issued on request).
Send the application online.

By post or fax:

Alternatively, you can print out the forms after completing them, sign them and send them to the BSA by post or fax.

You can only apply for plant variety protection if:
- You or your company live in Germany or have your registered office here.
- You or your company come from another country and have a contract with Germany or are a member of an association.
- You come from another country in which German citizens are granted similar rights.
If you do not live or have your registered office in a contracting country, you can only assert your rights if you have a representative in a contracting country.
You can only file an application with the Federal Plant Variety Office if you have bred or discovered the variety yourself. If you have a legal successor, this person is also entitled to file an application.
The variety must be distinct, uniform, stable, new and designated by a registerable variety denomination.

Application Deadline: 1 - 6 Years
Es gibt keine Frist zur Antragsstellung. Allerdings kann es für das Kriterium der Neuheit relevant sein, wenn erst spät ein Antrag auf Erteilung des Sortenschutzes eingeht. Eine Sorte ist neu, wenn Pflanzen oder Pflanzenteile der Sorte • innerhalb der Europäischen Union (EU) 1 Jahr, • außerhalb der EU 4 Jahre, bei Rebe und Baumarten 6 Jahre vor dem Antragstag nicht oder nur innerhalb der Neuheitsschonfristen mit Erlaubnis des Berechtigten oder seines Rechtsvorgängers zu gewerblichen Zwecken an andere abgegeben worden sind.

Period of Validity: 25 - 30 Years

Apply for plant variety protection

Process flow

Requirements

Which documents are required?

What are the fees?

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

Processing duration

Legal basis

Applications / forms

Translation note