UPOV recommendations for variety denominations

New Zealand has been a member of International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) since 1981, one of seventy member states using a common and effective system of plant variety protection. Members’ states adhere to the 1978 Convention or the current 1991 Convention with the common purpose to encourage breeders to develop new varieties of plants.

New Zealand is an active participant in the various UPOV Committees and Technical Working Parties and works cooperatively with other member states and non-member states to promote and develop technical and administrative best practice within plant variety protection.

UPOV also has an online database called PLUTO Plant Variety Database for searching international application based on various criteria such as UPOV code.

You must propose a denomination for the new variety that conforms to internationally accepted guidelines. If the denomination you propose is not acceptable the Commissioner will reject it and ask for an acceptable alternative.

UPOV have developed recommendations for members regarding variety denominations.

Summary of UPOV recommendations for variety denominations
 

Recommendation 1

The variety shall be designated by a denomination which is generic. The use of the denomination cannot be restricted by any other designation, such as a trademark, even after the Right for the variety has expired.
 

Recommendation 2

1. The denomination must enable the variety to be clearly identified and may not consist solely of figures unless that is the established practice for that genus or type of variety e.g. parent lines, inbred lines, hybrids
2. The denomination must not be liable to mislead and should not convey the impression that the variety: has particular characteristics which in fact does not; gives the impression that only the variety possess a character, when other varieties also have or may have the same character; is derived from another variety when it is not; is bred by a particular breeder when that is not the case.
3. The denomination must not cause confusion concerning the value or identity of the variety by the use of some superlatives, simple descriptive phrases and the use of a denomination which is very similar to another existing denomination. A difference of a single letter or number between two denominations may be considered to cause confusion and poorly identify the variety.
4. The denomination must be different from any existing variety of the same genus or species or a closely related species. The re use of a denomination is generally to be avoided, but where it relates to a variety which no longer exists may be acceptable.
    

Recommendation 3

The denomination of the variety shall be proposed by the breeder to the Plant Variety Rights Office. It is not the role of the Plant Variety Rights Office to propose a variety denomination. Should the denomination be rejected, the breeder is required to propose another denomination. The denomination shall only be approved by the Plant Variety Rights Office at the time of grant of the Right.
 

Recommendation 4

The prior rights of third persons shall not be affected by the use of the proposed denomination. A denomination cannot be accepted if another right, already granted to a third party under any intellectual property legislation, is already in use.
 

Recommendation 5

A variety must be submitted to all UPOV member states under the same denomination. The Plant Variety Rights Office will accept denominations submitted in other states unless the denomination is unsuitable for New Zealand. This recommendation reflects the importance of a single variety denomination for each variety world wide.
 

Recommendation 6 

The Plant Variety Rights Office will publish all proposed variety denominations in the Plant Variety Rights Journal and ensure that all UPOV member states are kept informed of matters concerning variety denominations in New Zealand.
 

Recommendation 7

There is an obligation and a requirement under the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987 for any person who offers for sale or markets propagating material for a variety within New Zealand to use the denomination of that variety, even after the Right for that variety has expired.
 

Recommendation 8

When a variety is offered for sale or marketed it is acceptable to associate a trademark, trade name or other indication with the variety denomination. The denomination must be easily recognisable and placed between single quotation marks.
 

Variety denomination classes

A variety denomination cannot be used more than once in the same class. In most cases a denomination class is equal to a genus, with the following exceptions forming special classes.

Class 1.1 Brassica oleracea

Class 1.2 Brassica other than Brassica oleracea

Class 2.1 Beta vulgaris L. var. alba DC., Beta vulgaris L. var. altissima

Class 2.2 Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris var. conditiva Alef. (syn.: B. vulgaris L. var. rubra L.), B. vulgaris L. var. cicla L., B. vulgaris L. ssp. vulgaris var. vulgaris

Class 2.3 Beta other than classes 2.1 and 2.2.

Class 3.1 Cucumis sativus

Class 3.2 Cucumis melo

Class 3.3 Cucumis other than classes 3.1 and 3.2

Class 4.1 Solanum tuberosum L.

Class 4.2 Tomato and Tomato rootstocks Solanum lycopersicum L. plus related species and hybrids

Class 4.3 Solanum melongena L.

Class 4.4 Solanum other than class 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

Class 201 Secale, Triticale, Triticum

Class 202 Panicum, Setaria, Megathyrsus, Steinchisma

Class 203 Agrostis, Dactylis, Festuca, Festulolium, Lolium, Phalaris,
Phleum and Poa

Class 204 Lotus, Medicago, Ornithopus, Onobrychis, Trifolium

Class 205 Cichorium, Lactuca

Class 206 Petunia and Calibrachoa

Class 207 Chrysanthemum and Ajania

Class 208 (Statice) Goniolimon, Limonium, Psylliostachys

Class 209 (Waxflower) Chamelaucium, Verticordia

Class 210 Jamesbrittania and Sutera

Class 211 Edible Mushrooms

Agaricus bisporus, Agaricus blazei,

Agrocybe cylindracea,

Auricularia auricura, Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sscc.,

Dictyophora indusiata (Ventenat:Persoon) Fischer

Flammulina velutipes, Ganoderma lucidum (Leyss:Fries) Karsten

Grifola frondosa

Hericium erinaceum,

Hypsizigus marmoreus, Hypsizigus ulmarius,

Lentinula edodes

Lepista nuda (Bulliard:Fries) Cooke, Lepista sordida (Schumacher:Fries) Singer,

Lyophyllum decastes, Lyophyllum shimeji (Kawamura) Hongo,

Meripilus giganteus (Persoon:Fries) Karten

Mycoleptodonoides aitchisonii (Berkeley) Maas Geesteranus

Naematoloma sublateritium

Panellus serotinus

Pholiota adipose, Pholiota nameko

Pleurotus cornucopiae var.citrinooileatus, Pleurotus cystidiosus, Pleurotus

cystidiosus subsp. Abalonus, Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus

pulmonarius

Polyporus tuberaster (Jacquin ex Persoon) Fries

Sparassis crispa (Wulfen) Fries

Tricholoma giganteum Massee

Class 212 Verbena L. and Glandularia J.F.Gmel.