Hamburg/Beijing, October 27 – CIOPORA and China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) held the first meeting in the framework of the initiative on the expansion of lists of protectable genera and species in China. The idea behind the project is to assist China’s PBR authorities with the implementation of the DUS Technical Guidelines (TG) for certain ornamental species, hence providing Plant Variety Protection to a broader range of commercially important plants in China. If implemented, the expanded protectability would create a securer IP framework for the introduction of new varieties to the Chinese market by breeders, while local growers would benefit from the access to the plant material of premium varieties with high foreign and domestic demand. The concerned plant species include Pelargonium peltatum, Salvia farinacea, Portulaca, Heuchera, Bidens, Calibrachoa hybrida, Coreopsis, Lobelia erinus, Lobularia, Mandevilla hybrida, Osteospermum ecklonis, Verbena, Verbena hortensis and Verbena hybrida.
The parties discussed concrete options for the knowledge transfer in the DUS area between breeders, MARA and other PBR offices, with MARA considering the take-over of DUS reports to speed up the expansion process. Given the upcoming review of China’s Plant Breeders’ Right regulation, that in its current draft version would provide for a considerably higher level of protection for plant innovations and protection for all genera and species, the project has high potential to open a new chapter in private-public cooperation between breeders and the Chinese PBR authorities.