At its Fifth Session in 2013, the Governing Body launched a process to explore possible areas of interrelations between the International Treaty, especially its Article 9 on Farmers’ Rights, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Convention, and relevant instruments of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (Resolution 8/2013, para 3).

As part of this process, the Secretariat invited submissions of information on possible interrelations from Contracting Parties and interested stakeholders. All inputs received were brought to the attention of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainable Use at its second meeting in March 2015, which processed the interrelations identified for transmission to UPOV and WIPO.  

The submissions are presented below in the form and language in which they were received.

The Symposium on possible interrelations between the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, held in October 2016 at UPOV headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, was also part of this process. It was attended by more than 140 participants, representing governments, farmers, civil society and the private sector. Participants heard a number of presentations on Contracting Parties’ experiences of implementing the two instruments at national level, and had an opportunity to discuss the issues with the speakers and among themselves.

The Symposium was jointly organized by the International Treaty and UPOV, and it was open to Contracting Parties and observers of the International Treaty and UPOV, as well as to the general public. Arrangements were made for simultaneous interpretation into English, French and Spanish.

The proceedings of the Symposium can be accessed here. Further information on the Symposium is available here.

At its Eighth Session, the Governing Body “note[d] the ongoing review process of the FAQ on the interrelations between the UPOV Convention and the International Treaty and exchange of experiences and information on implementation of the UPOV Convention and the International Treaty, and request[ed] the Secretary to continue exploring how Contracting Parties to the International Treaty could further contribute to these processes, and to continue the dialogue with UPOV on these matters” (Resolution 6/2019).