How to obtain plant breeders' rights when you bred or discovered and developed a new plant variety. In order to obtain plant breeders' rights, you must go through a granting procedure with the competent authority.
Normally, the first step in this procedure is the filing of a plant breeders' rights application, together with the completion of a technical questionnaire and the payment of a filing fee. During that procedure it is investigated
- whether the formal conditions were met,
- whether the required taxes have been paid,
- whether a valid variety denomination has been proposed and
- whether the plant variety is sufficiently distinct, uniform, stable and new to grant plant breeders' rights.
If you wish protection by plant breeders' rights in Belgium, you must go through the granting procedure at the Belgian Intellectual Property Office (IPObel).
If you also wish protection by plant breeders' rights abroad, you must go through the granting procedure with the competent national or regional service, such as the Community Plant Variety Office, to obtain a Community plant variety right that grants you protection in all Member States of the European Union.
