What is the most suitable intellectual property protection for an herbicide-resistant pepper? Plant variety rights and patents may both appear as suitable mechanisms at first sight, but they have a different scope of protection and application.
This webinar focuses on the notion and interface between these intellectual property rights, in accordance with the interpretation of the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal. The speaker will explain the exception to patentability of essentially biological processes and plant varieties, as enshrined in Article 53(b) EPC. In this context, the main milestones in the case law history of the European Patent Office (EPO) concerning the cited exception will be mentioned, with a focus on the latest Opinion G 3/19 of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO.
Learning objectives:
- Introduction to the Community (EU) Plant Variety Rights system, and to the European Patent system
- Subject matter of protection of a plant variety right and of a patent.
- The exception to patentability of essentially biological processes and of plant varieties
- Case law saga of the EPO on Article 53(b) EPC, with a focus on Opinion G 3/19 of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO
