组织性质与定位
国际植物新品种保护联盟(International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, 简称 UPOV)是依据《国际植物新品种保护公约》(以下简称 UPOV 公约)设立的政府间国际组织,总部位于瑞士日内瓦,秘书处的行政事务由世界知识产权组织(WIPO)代为提供支持。UPOV 公约于 1961 年在巴黎外交会议上通过,并分别于 1972 年、1978 年和 1991 年完成修订,1991 年文本是当前各成员国适用的主要版本。其使命是提供并促进一个有效的植物品种保护体系,以鼓励面向社会利益的新植物品种培育。
发展历程与成员规模
UPOV 公约于 1968 年正式生效,首批缔约方为 5 个欧洲创始成员国,此后加入范围逐步扩展至全球。截至 2025 年 12 月尼日利亚成为第 80 个成员国,UPOV 已成为全球植物育种知识产权领域成员数量最多、影响力最广的政府间框架。成员国覆盖五大洲,既包括西欧、北美、日本、韩国等传统育种强国,也包括中国(1999 年加入)、越南、阿联酋等近 30 年内陆续加入的发展中经济体,体现公约体系对全球农业和园艺创新的持续吸纳能力。
职能与主要活动
UPOV 的核心职能围绕植物育种者权利(plant breeders’ rights)展开,通过为新品种提供知识产权保护来激励育种投入。保护条件包括新颖性(novelty)、特异性(distinctness)、一致性(uniformity)和稳定性(stability)四项标准。在落地工具上,UPOV 提供 UPOV PRISMA 在线申请系统、UPOV Lex 法律数据库、PLUTO 品种数据库以及 GENIE 多国法律协调数据库,并通过 UPOV e-PVP Exchange 支持各成员国植物品种保护办公室之间的电子数据交换,降低育种者跨境申请成本。
治理结构与组织管理
UPOV 的常设机构包括理事会(Council)和联盟办公室(Office of the Union),理事会主席由成员国代表轮值,现任主席为来自加拿大的 Anthony Parker,副主席为来自加纳的 Grace Ama Issahaque。秘书长由 WIPO 现任总干事 Daren Tang 兼任,办公室下设法律事务部、全球发展与技术事务部、信息技术部等若干职能单位。技术层面设立技术委员会(Technical Committee)及五个技术工作组,分别负责农业作物、果树、观赏植物与林木、蔬菜以及测试方法与技术的协调,确保各成员国在特异性、一致性和稳定性审查上保持统一技术标准。
合作网络与国际影响
UPOV 与世界知识产权组织(WIPO)、国际植物新品种保护协会(IFLA)、国际种子联盟(ISF)等政府间组织及行业团体保持长期协作,并通过 UPOV PVP Certificate 在线培训项目、案例研究数据库和年度统计报告支持成员国能力建设。其发布的 Impact of Plant Variety Protection 报告显示,加入 UPOV 与成员国育种活动增加、可用改良品种丰富、外国新品种引进加速等正向指标显著相关,是各国植物育种知识产权立法的重要参考依据,在全球农业和园艺产业中具有广泛的政策与贸易影响。
About
The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is an intergovernmental organization established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (the “UPOV Convention”). Its Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland, with administrative support provided by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The Convention was adopted at the diplomatic conference in Paris in 1961 and revised in 1972, 1978 and 1991, with the 1991 Act being the current main instrument applied by members. UPOV’s mission is to provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants for the benefit of society.
History and Membership
The UPOV Convention entered into force in 1968 with five founding European states. Membership has since expanded steadily across all five continents, reaching 80 members in December 2025 when Nigeria acceded to the Convention. The current membership spans established breeding economies in Western Europe, North America, Japan and the Republic of Korea, together with more recent adherents including China (which joined in 1999), Viet Nam and the United Arab Emirates, reflecting the Convention’s role as a global framework for plant-related intellectual property.
Activities and Tools
UPOV’s core activity centers on the plant breeders’ right, an intellectual property right granted to breeders of new plant varieties. Protection is conditional on four criteria: novelty, distinctness, uniformity and stability. To support applicants and national authorities, UPOV operates UPOV PRISMA for online applications, UPOV Lex for the legal texts of the Union, PLUTO for variety data, and GENIE for information on national laws and cooperation in examination. The UPOV e-PVP Exchange enables electronic data exchange between participating Plant Variety Protection offices, lowering the cost of cross-border applications for breeders.
Governance and Bodies
The Council and the Office of the Union are the permanent organs of UPOV under Article 25 of the 1991 Act. The current President of the Council is Mr. Anthony Parker (Canada) and the Vice-President is Ms. Grace Ama Issahaque (Ghana). The Secretary-General is Mr. Daren Tang, who also serves as Director General of WIPO. Day-to-day work is carried out by units covering Legal Affairs, Global Development and Technical Affairs, and IT. On the technical side, the Technical Committee coordinates five Technical Working Parties covering agricultural crops, fruit crops, ornamental plants and forest trees, vegetables, and testing methods and techniques.
Networks and Global Impact
UPOV cooperates with WIPO, regional plant variety protection systems, the International Seed Federation (ISF) and other intergovernmental and industry partners. It runs the UPOV PVP Certificate online training program, maintains case-study resources and publishes annual PVP statistics. Its Impact of Plant Variety Protection study shows that, where the UPOV system is implemented alongside UPOV membership, member States tend to see increased breeding activity, greater availability of improved varieties and stronger international exchange of new varieties, making UPOV a key reference point for plant-related intellectual property legislation worldwide.
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