CIOPORA is the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Varieties ( French – Communauté Internationale des Obtenteurs de Plantes Ornamentales et Frutières à Reproduction Asexuée,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

- Internationale Gemeinschaft der Züchter vegetativ vermehrbarer Zier- und Obstpflanzen,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

- Comunidad Internacional de Fitomejoradores de Plantas ornamentales y frutales de reproducción asexuada). CIOPORA groups together individual breeders of ornamental and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

plants, breeding companies, as well as IP attorneys and consultants. Established in 1961 under Swiss law, CIOPORA is an independent

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

and non-governmental international association, whose main objective is to monitor and to facilitate the constant development of the systems of protection of

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

(IP) Rights for plant innovation in the

horticultural Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

and fruit sector.

Establishment

The founding meeting of CIOPORA took place on February 4, 1961 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

with Wilhelm Kordes II elected as its first President. Preceding the Diplomatic Conference of November 1961 in Paris, where CIOPORA participated along with the representatives of 12 European nations, which resulted in the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants and the establishment of the

UPOV The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants or UPOV () is a treaty body (non-United Nations intergovernmental organization) with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Its objective is to provide an effective system for p ...

, CIOPORA published its first position paper providing its comments on the provisions of the Draft Convention. This paper was distributed among the various delegations attending the Paris Conference in November 1961. Since 1961 CIOPORA has been representing the interests of breeders of asexually reproduced plant varieties before the policy-making authorities, such as

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

, as well as single

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Mission

CIOPORA is set out to influence and participate in the development of systems of

Protection for breeders of ornamental and fruit plant varieties worldwide. Representing the interests of breeders in the horticultural sector, CIOPORA monitors the national and international laws targeted at the regulation of Plant Variety Protection, such as

Plant Breeders' Rights Plant breeders' rights (PBR), also known as plant variety rights (PVR), are rights granted in certain places to the breeder of a new variety of plant that give the breeder exclusive control over the propagating material (including seed, cuttin ...

Patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s and Plant Patents. CIOPORA pursues the enhancement, unification and synchronization of the relevant national and international

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

as well as the consideration of the breeders’ positions and interests by the law-making authorities. For instance, CIOPORA works closely with CPVO, the Community Plant Variety Office, by participating in its Administrative Council as an observer. The Secretary General of CIOPORA Dr. Edgar Krieger is a member of the CPVO Working Group of Legal Experts. The meetings of the Group take place three to four times a year in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. CIOPORA also an active participant and, from time to time, a co-organizer of the educational events held by CPVO.

Status at UPOV

Since 1988 CIOPORA has been participating in the

Council sessions open for non-governmental organizations. Currently, along with its independent observer status, CIOPORA participates in the Administrative and Legal Committee (CAJ), Technical Committee (TC), Technical Working Party for Fruits (TWF), Technical Working Party for Ornamental Plants and Forest Trees (TWO), as well as in the Working Group on Biochemical and Molecular Techniques, and DNA-Profiling in Particular (BMT) of the UPOV. CIOPORA has contributed to all three acts of the UPOV Convention (1961, 1978 and 1991) and submitted its feedback in the process of development of numerous other documents and regulations by UPOV regarding such topics as variety denominations, examination of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability, harvested material, Essentially Derived Varieties, enforcement of breeders’ rights, etc.

Structure

The supreme authority of CIOPORA is the

Annual General Meeting An annual general meeting (AGM, also known as the annual meeting) is a meeting of the general membership of an organization. These organizations include membership associations and companies with shareholders. These meetings may be required ...

(AGM) of its members The AGM of CIOPORA is held at least once a year. The date and venue, as well as the agenda of each year’s AGM are determined by the Board of CIOPORA. An extraordinary General Meeting can be convened on the proposals of the Board or of at least one fifth of the breeder members of the association. The general management and the control over the affairs of the association are entrusted to its Board headed by the President. The Board of CIOPORA is composed at least of eight and no more than eleven members of the association, including the President. The President and the candidates for the Board are nominated by the Board and are elected by

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

of the AGM for a term of three years. The President of CIOPORA can be reelected once. The Board of CIOPORA chooses the

Vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and the

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of the association from its ranks. The Board of the association meets at least two, and usually four times a year. The administrative office of CIOPORA is located in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is headed by the Secretary General designated by the Board as a representative of CIOPORA in all external communication activities of the association targeted at the achievement of the CIOPORA's goals and objectives. The

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

handles the accounts and is in charge of all the administrative matters of the association. The members of CIOPORA can create groups within the structure of the association, such as

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

sections and working groups. Currently there are five active crop sections within the structure of the association:

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

, Cut

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

(IRBA),

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

Gypsophila ''Gypsophila'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the carnation family, Caryophyllaceae. They are native to Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Pot Plants. Working groups are created with the goal to work on a particular topic. At the moment two Working Groups - Working Group on Molecular Techniques and Working Group on DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability) – meet regularly in order to draft the positions of CIOPORA on the respective matters.

Presidents of CIOPORA

Secretaries General of CIOPORA

Members and Supporters

Currently CIOPORA comprises over 160 members from 26 countries (November 2024). Single breeders and breeding companies from the horticultural and fruit sector, as well as title holders, breeder associations, IP lawyers and consultants active in the area of

Protection are eligible for membership in the association. The proportion of the different member groups is regulated in the

bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some other ...

of CIOPORA: the number of affiliate members, association members, lawyer members and honorary members must not exceed half the number of the breeder members in order to guarantee that CIOPORA remains primarily the community of breeders. Each membership candidacy is subject to approval by the CIOPORA Board.

Natural person In jurisprudence, a natural person (also physical person in some Commonwealth countries, or natural entity) is a person (in legal meaning, i.e., one who has its own legal personality) that is an individual human being, distinguished from the br ...

s and companies, which are prepared to support the objectives of CIOPORA, but do not qualify as members, may become supporters of the association. Currently, CIOPORA accounts for 6 supporters from four countries.

Events

Besides the

s, CIOPORA organizes international conferences and seminars on IP-related topics within the framework of the educational services for its member community and interested parties.

References

* *
CSO Position On Aripo Draft Legal Framework On Plant Variety ProtectionGRAIN — ARIPO’S plant variety protection law criminalises farmers and undermines seed systems in Africa

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.ciopora.org International economic organizations International organisations based in Switzerland Plant breeding Intellectual property organizations