March 24, Angers - the President of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) Martin Ekvad has taken a "Decision concerning the extension of time limits" that fall into the period from March 17 – May 3. The extension applies to all proceedings before the Office and the Board of Appeal. However, the plant material submissions for technical examination and the payments of examination fees should proceed as planned where possible.
The CPVO Office further explained that the plant material submission deadlines depended on the species in question. While some technical examinations will proceed as scheduled despite the COVID-19 crisis, in other cases, a delay may be necessary. For this reason, the Office did not see it as appropriate to apply the general deadline extension to all cases. The same applies to the examination fee payments as their deadlines are linked to the dates of the plant material submission.
Commenting on the decision, Martin Ekvad said: "The CPVO recognises that the COVID-19 crisis has direct implications for parties to proceedings who need to make the necessary practical arrangements and adapt their working methods in line with measures adopted by health authorities across the European Union."
The Decision and the corresponding Explanatory Note have published on the CPVO's website and across its social media channels.
Find all CPVO COVID-19 updates here (the page is being updated continually):