(135) Taking Effect in the United States
of the International Convention for
the Protection of New Varieties of Plants
The International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of
Plants (the UPOV Convention) will take effect in the United States on
Nov. 8, 1981. It will apply to all applications for the patenting of
plants under the provisions of Title 35, United States Code, which
are filed on or after Nov. 8, 1981. The actual filing date will
govern in determining whether the Convention will apply to an
application, even though the application may be entitled to an
earlier effective date under section 119 or 120 of Title 35, United
States Code.
In addition to the United States, the UPOV Convention will be in
effect as of Nov. 8, 1981, in the following fourteen States: Belgium,
Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
No changes in the patent law are needed to implement the UPOV
Convention in the United States. An applicant for a plant patent will
be required, however, to submit for registration a variety name for
the plant to be patented. Registration is required by Article 13 of
the UPOV Convention.
Registrability shall be determined in accordance with the
International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (1980). As
an interim procedure pending the promulgation of an appropriate rule,
inclusion of the variety name in the application will be accepted as
a submission of the name for registration. No plant patent as a
result of an application filed on or after Nov. 8, 1981, shall be
issued without the registration of a variety name. Questions
concerning this variety naming requirement or the UPOV Convention may
be addressed to:
Mr. Michael K. Kirk, Director
Office of Legislation and
International Affairs Box 4
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Washington, D.C. 20231
Mr. Kirk's telephone number is (703) 557-3065.
Oct. 15, 1981 GERALD J. MOSSINGHOFF
Commissioner of Patents
and Trademarks
[1011 OG 27]
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