December 24, London/Brussels – Following the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU from October 19, on December 24, the parties also produced the Trade and Cooperation Agreement concluding the UK’s withdrawal process from the Union. The latter contains new rules for cooperation and trade between the EU and the UK as well as a range of economically important areas such as IP. Section 6 refers exclusively to Plant Variety Protection and the obligation of parties to protect plant varieties in accordance with the 1991 Act of UPOV. It also includes a section on Border Measures, including the commitment by each party to adopt or maintain procedures to suspend the release of suspected infringing goods under the customs control.
When it comes to trade, the new agreement provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin. Nonetheless, there may be potential delays at the borders due to additional paperwork and the newly introduced checks. Learn more about new trade procedures and rules here.
Picture: Christian Lue, Unsplash.com
As set out in the Withdrawal Agreement (see also the CIOPORA Guide on Brexit, the Deal-Version), the following rules and prospects will apply in the area of Plant Variety Protection:
Continued protection in the United Kingdom of registered or granted rights: according to Article 54 of the Withdrawal Agreement, plant varieties with EU rights granted in force at the end of the Transition Period (December 31, 2020) are given the corresponding UK right for the same plant variety. The duration of protection of transferred rights will be equal to the remaining lifespan of the EU right. In mid-January, DEFRA has confirmed to CIOPORA that the UK had received the full list of titles eligible for the UK title transfer from CPVO on December 21. The information for the titles filed or granted between December 21 and 31 will be provided by CPVO prior to the next official February update. DEFRA currently intents on publishing the complete lists in late... READ MORE in the member area and find out about the right of priority in the UK for the EU PVR applicants, PVR maintenance fees, DUS examinations & the UK representation for breeders.