Plant Variety Rights

NEW Call for expression of interest for the post of Member of the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office

The CPVO is setting up a new list of 30 Board of Appeal members for the next five years as from 23 February 2026.

The successful candidates will be appointed by the Administrative Council of the CPVO.

They will not be employed by the CPVO but will - as per needed in appeal cases - be selected by the Chairman of the CPVO Board of Appeal.

Please note: remuneration is on assignment. EU servants in active service are not

Welcome back to our 'Plant Breeding Success Stories', where we share interviews from SMEs across the Plant Breeding sector. In this article, we're chatting with FitzGerald Nurseries, an Irish company based in Stonyford, Kilkenny.

CPVO: Could you briefly describe the work of FitzGerald Nurseries?

FitzGerald Nurseries: Our operations are built on the foundation of registering and representing intellectual property (IP) to carve out an innovative niche in various crops, which are now produced on an unprecedented scale in Europe. FitzGerald Nurseries focuses on ornamental plants,

Following the withdrawal agreement of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU), the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has informed the CPVO with regard to titles currently in force in the United Kingdom in this way:

Varieties with EU Plant Variety Rights granted by the CPVO and effective on 31 December 2020 continue to be protected under UK legislation in the UK for their remaining lifespan and are referred to as Retained EU Plant Variety Rights.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) requires holders of Retained EU Plant Variety Rights to provide an address