Plant Variety Protection and Plant Reproductive Material Legislation in the EU: Finding a Place for Sustainable Innovation

This article illustrates the relationship between Community plant variety protection and the laws relating to the marketing of seeds and other plant reproductive material (PRM legislation), and their role in driving sustainable innovation in plant breeding. To this end, the article addresses key provisions of the two legal frameworks, outlines the common ground and interactions, and explores future scenarios, especially in light of the recent legislative proposal of the Commission to amend the PRM legislation. It concludes that EU plant variety protection and the PRM legislation have a close relationship, and when sustainability finds a place in the PRM legislation, it also interacts with plant variety protection thereby shaping innovation in plant breeding.