Webinar 63/2018 Enforcement of plant variety rights

Plant variety rights are specific form of intellectual property that enjoy protection according to international (UPOV) conventions, regional agreements and national law. In the current commercial reality however the exclusive property rights of owners/breeders are often infringed for the sake of profit making. This criminal phenomenon seriously harms economic interest of the breeders, endangers future agro-research, decrease employment in the sector, reduces state revenues while enriches illegitimate traders and criminal groups and create health risks to consumers. This webinar aims to raise the attention of law enforcement officials to the various forms of plant variety infringements by demonstrating the scope of the problem, showing examples of criminal engagement, but also describing the way of detection and investigation of plant variety infringements with special focus on public-private and cross-border cooperation.