Regional Seminar on Enforcement of Plant Variety Rights Warsaw, Poland 11 and 12 May 2006

1. Regional Seminar on Enforcement of Plant Variety Rights Warsaw, Poland 11 and 12 May 2006 GENERAL BACKGROUND ON TECHNICAL ASPECT Julia Borys COBORU

2. Introduction Plant breeders’ rights are granted for varieties that are: • distinct, uniform and stable (DUS) • novel • designated by a suitable variety denomination UPOV principles and guidance are the basis for harmonized DUS test, identification appropiate characteristics for DUS test and the preparation of variety description in a standardized form. Breeder of protected variety (title holder of PVR) can only enforce his right if he is able to prove that the material in question does not differ from his protected variety.

3. The presentation illustrates the general background on technical aspects for the granting of PBR in view of an eventual its enforcement. The lecture refers to • Definition of a variety • General remarks to the DUS testing • Examining distinctness • Examining uniformity • Examining stability • New techniques • Enforcement of PVRs • Conclusion

4. Definition of varietyAccording to the UPOV ConventionVariety means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of a breeder’s right are fully met, can be • defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes, • distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the said characteristics, and • considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged;

5. The variety is defined by expression of its characteristics.The most important characteristics of a variety of certain species are indicated in an application forms for PBRs, in Technical Questionaire. The characteristics are the basis for examining Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability (DUS).

6. General remarks to the DUS testingUPOV has developed the General Introduction and the TGP documents as well as „Test Guidelines” – the principles used in the DUS test.The CPVO and national authorities have developed their own protocols in accordance with the UPOV recommendation.The CPVO protocols are the common basis for the DUS test within the EU. Harmonization facilitates cooperation in DUS testing and helps to provide effective protection through the development of harmonized, internationally recognized description of protected variety.

7. Distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) are judged on the basis of characteristics and their expressions.There are three main categories of the characteristics: • „Qualitative characteristics” which show discrete (discontinuous) with no arbitrary limit on the number of states (e.g. color) • „Pseudo-qualitative” characteristics - expressions are partly continuous and vary in more than one dimension (e.g. shape) • „Quantitative characteristics” are those that are measurable on a one-dimensional scale and show continuous variation from one extreme to other (e.g. plant height)

8. Examining DistinctnessRequirements of the UPOV ConventionThe variety shall be deemed to be distinct if it is clearly distinguishable from any other variety whose existence is a matter of common knowledge at the time of the filing of the application. A variety can be distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the characteristics. A variety may be considered to be clearly distinguishable if the difference in characteristics is: consistent and clear

9. Examining Distinctness (cont.)Truly qualitative characteristics - the difference is clear if expressions fall into different states.Quantitative characteristics - the difference is assessed with statistical tools e.g. LSD and COYD methods. In the case of hybrid variety its distinctness may be assessed using the parental formula. Variety A distinct from Variety B if the parental lines used in each Hybrid are distinct.

10. Examining UniformityRequirements of the UPOV ConventionThe variety shall be deemed to be uniform if, subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently uniform in its relevant characteristics. According to a UPOV definition, plants of a given variety must be similar to each other as much as possible.

11. Assessment of uniformity is linked to the genetic structure and way of reproduction • for vegetatively propagated and self-pollinated varieties – acceptable number of off-types based on population standard and proper acceptance probability • for mainly self-pollinated varieties – a higher tolerance is acceptable – often doubled • for cross-pollinated varieties – relative tolerance based on comparison with already known varieties COYU method recommended by UPOV • for hybrid varieties – single hybrids are assessed as self-pollinated, others – as cross-pollinated varieties

12. Examining stabilityRequirements of UPOV ConventionThe variety shall be deemed to be stable if its relevant characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation or, in the case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each cycle.If a submitted sample of the candidate variety in DUS test is uniform – it can be considered as stable.Checking stability of a variety by: • testing differences between generations • comparison of the new representative sample to the old one (standard sample)

13. New techniquesDevelopment of new technologies and possible use of new techniques in the field of PVRsDiscussion at UPOV level (the BMT Group, its Subgroups, the BMT Review Group) on the following options: Option 1: Molecular characteristics as a predictor of traditional characteristics (gene specific markers) Option 2: Calibration of threshold levels for molecular characteristics against the minimum distance in traditional characteristics Option 3: Development of new system

14. Enforcement of PVRsThe breeder of the protected variety (title holder) enforcing his PVRs should concider as follows: • the description of the protected variety established according to the version of the protocol used in DUS test • the place where the DUS test was carried out • existence the standard (reference) sample of the protected variety Plant material in question should be grown side by side with standard sample of the protected variety and assessed according to the protocol used for the preparation of the variety description.

15. ConclussionThe improvement of the quality of DUS test is still needed in order to strenghten the variety protection and to enforce plant breeders’ rights. Harmonization of examinations performance and used techniques is essencial to define and identify of variety – the most important condition for protection and enforcement of PBRs.