§ Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement indicating what changes are in prospect deriving from EEC regulations concerning the protection of plant names, such as Maris; and if he will make a statement on the effects of such changes.
§ Mrs. FennerThere are no EEC regulations governing protection of plant names. The change that is in prospect stems from a decision reached by the Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) which is the international forum for this purpose and of which the United Kingdom is a founder member. Under the UPOV decision the United Kingdom's Controller of Plant Variety Rights, and the equivalent authorities in all other member countries, will no longer approve new varietal names containing any prefix or suffix denoting origin. However, neither this international convention nor our own legislation in any way prevents British plant breeders from adding a trade mark or trade name to any approved varietal name. This change is relevant to our membership of the EEC only in the sense that EEC directives require a plant variety to be known under the same name throughout the Community. By implementing the UPOV decision, to which all other countries concerned are subscribing, we shall therefore be safeguarding the entry of British-bred varieties to the enlarged market of the Community.