Breeding new plant varieties is time-consuming and requires great skill, experience, and knowledge. Plant variety protection grants breeders an exclusive right to use the newly bred variety as a reward for this achievement. However, plant variety protection is not only crucial for the entrepreneurial interests of the breeder but also for the general public. In the face of climate change, the continued growth of the world's population, the reduction in the use of chemical agents, and the increased global mobility of pests, the breeding of new, adapted varieties is more critical than ever.
Policymakers continue to assert the importance of plant variety protection. At the end of 2021, the European Union legislature extended the duration of Community plant variety protection by five years to 30 years for the species groups of small-fruited shrubs, flowering bulbs, and ornamental shrubs as well as for some varieties of the species Asparagus officinalis L. (Asparagus).
In 2022, Dr. Gert Würtenberger and his entire team joined Meissner Bolte, bringing decades of experience in plant variety protection across all instances, from the plant variety offices to the Court of Justice of the European Union. This merger enables us to provide you with comprehensive advice with our combined know-how in plant variety protection, patents, and supplementary protection certificates.
Our expertise in the field of plant variety protection guarantees the preparation of top-quality applications for plant variety protection and enables us to represent you in application proceedings before the Federal Plant Variety Office and the Community Plant Variety Office, as well as to prosecute applications worldwide. We also provide you with top-notch advice for judicial and extrajudicial enforcement and defense of national and European plant variety rights, border seizure proceedings, and contracts.
