Proposals for the improvement of the technical examination under the EU Plant Breeders’ Rights system

Two complementary strategies are presented aiming at improving the technical examination of new plant varieties under the procedure for the granting of new Plant Breeders Rights, both in the European Union and within the framework of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, in order to stimulate innovation in the plant breeding sector. The proposed measures are (relatively) easily implementable, without major systemic reforms, and have the potential to ease innovation, either generically, or addressed at specific relevant key challenges, such as the adaptation of agriculture to climate change.