Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 27 t’s safe to say that the general public relates more to seed-related agriculture than to vegetative horticulture. The famous proverb says, “All of the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today”. At CIOPORA, we know that this is not entirely true: many flowers are propagated through cuttings. Even less recognized is the fact that the ornamental and fruit varieties, along with many other consumer products, are the result of an elaborate and innova- tive process — the bounties of specialized labour and intellectual activity — which require protection under a well-established intellectual property (IP) regime. Plant breeding is a time- and cost-consuming process. For many breeders, it can take more than a decade to develop a new plant variety with an enhanced set of characteristics. Think, for example, of a thicker petal on a rose or a crisper bite to an apple. The continu- ous progress in breeding of ornamentals and fruits, as well as the great diversity of horticultural products on the market, can only be guaranteed by means of effective IP protection for the innovation-based plant breeding businesses. CIOPORA – THE MISSION BEHIND THE ACRONYM CIOPORA is the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Plants or, or in its French form, Communauté Internationale des Obtenteurs de Plantes Ornementales et Fruitières à Reproduction Asexuée. The association was founded by a group of rose breeders in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 4, 1961. Later that same year, the cor- nerstone of a worldwide system for Plant Variety Protection (PVP) was laid when the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) was established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants in Paris. Today, more than half a century later and after three revisions of the UPOV Convention, CIOPORA remains the only international organization representing the interests of breeders in the ornamental and fruit sec- tors whose varieties account for approxi- mately 60-70 per cent of all Plant Breeders’ Rights titles and plant patents granted – solely in regard to their IP rights. Uniting Breeders – Protecting Innovation CIOPORA has been leading the establishment of effective IP systems for plants worldwide for more than 55 years. By: Edgar Krieger, Secretary-General at CIOPORA Participants and lecturers at the first CIOPORA Academy workshop in Venlo, NL, in December 2015.