Ecuador: Flower growers, international breeders concerned about extremely high fees in Ecuador

On the fringes of its upcoming Annual General Meeting in Angers, France, CIOPORA will discuss with a governmental delegation from Ecuador, headed by the Minister of Science and Human Talent, Mr. Augusto Espinosa, and the Director of the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (IEPI), Mr. Andres Ycaza, solutions after the dramatic increase of the fees for PBR in Ecuador in October 2012. The meeting will also be joined by representatives of EXPOFLORES, the Ecuadorian association of flower growers and exporters, who are likewise concerned with the current situation regarding the fees for PBR in their country, as the current fee levels jeopardize the competitiveness of the whole Ecuadorian flower industry. If imposed, the high fee levels will become not only a major impediment to effective IP protection of plant innovation in Ecuador. By hindering the technology transfer to Ecuador they could considerably weaken the competitiveness of the flower growing businesses in the country, where cut flowers are the fifth largest export product [1] with a total trade value of US-$ 679,901,810 [2].

Current situation with PBR fees in Ecuador

As a by-product of the increase of the Patent fees in Ecuador by Resolution Nº 006-2012-CD-IEPI of October 2012, the fees for the acquisition and the maintenance of Plant Breeders´ Rights in Ecuador have been increased, too. The new fees for PBR, which over the whole duration of protection result in total amount of US-$ 170,000, meet a strong opposition of international breeders, mainly of cut-rose and summer flowers, as well as growers in Ecuador.

Currently an eight months moratorium is in force, which allows breeders to retain the payments of the increased fees without interest and penalties. This moratorium was agreed between the Ecuadorian government and EXPOFLORES in order to give time for the finding of a long-term, sustainable solution for the matter.

Source : CIOPORA