October 14-16, Mexico – In anticipation of the PBR Law review by Mexico and its potential accession to the UPOV 1991 Act, CIOPORA legal counsel Micaela Filippo visited the country to raise awareness towards IP for plants and, on behalf of the breeders’ community, to contribute to Mexico’s current discourse on PBR.
Photo credit: Jorge Zapata, Unsplash.com
The engagements during the four-day visit included: a presentation at a seminar on Mexico’s current draft PBR bill organized by the CIOPORA member Santamarina & Steta; a lecture “Introduction into IP Protection Systems for Plants” for students of Plant Technology and Biosciences at the University of Chapingo; as well as a keynote speech at the International Congress of Horticulture – Ornato 2019, in Puebla, Mexico. The latter emphasized the importance of Mexico’s accession to the Act 1991 of UPOV putting forward a range of the pro-accession arguments. The panel discussion, which Micaela was a part of along with several CIOPORA members (Santamarina & Steta, UROVMEX) and a growers’ organization, demonstrated a gap between breeders’ and growers’ positions on the potential PBR upgrade. While it was evident that the ongoing modernization of the Mexican PBR law will have a positive impact on the local horticulture, the representatives of small growers expressed scepticism. During the discussion, it became evident that the PVP system and its key elements are often misunderstood by the growers’ community hence awareness raising is key. CIOPORA sees it as a part of its mandate to fulfil this function on behalf of the breeders’ community in Mexico and worldwide.
The 2019 CIOPORA mission to Mexico and the exposure given to CIOPORA were made possible with the kind assistance of our member Ms Enriqueta Molina, Santamarina & Steta.