UPOV Council Adopts New Explanatory Notes on Essentially Derived Varieties

On October 27, the UPOV Council adopted the new Explanatory Notes (EXN) on Essentially Derived Varieties (EDV), which replaced the EXN of 2017.

The new EXN clarifies that varieties with a single parent resulting, for example, from mutations, genetic modification, or genome editing, are predominantly derived from their initial variety. There is also no upper limit as to the number of differences which may result from the act of derivation. This is in line with the understanding of the breeders’ community on the principle of EDV.