Basic informations about Variety Owners' Cooperative

Plant breeding

has a long tradition in the Czech Republic, based on the number of top varieties almost by each species of cultivated plants. Behind these successes there are many years of systematic and creative work of Czech breeders. New conditions and possibilities, arising from the open market in the united Europe result in lost of limits in using varieties. There exist a stiff competition thereby, which forces the cultivators to even higher productivity in plant breeding. Demands of the processing industry to the varieties with specific features according to purpose of use have been growing continuously. However, from the results of breeding activities profit in particular the farmers, for which the new and even more yielding and quality varieties are the precondition of success in business. Through the endeavour to comply with these demands the plant breeding becomes to be more and more costly matter.

The Law 408/ 2000 Sb. (Code of Law)

On protection of rights to plant varieties, grants to the holders of plant breeders rights the exclusive right for using their varieties (production and reproduction, processing, offering for sale and sale, import, export and storage). Through granting consent with use of the protected variety to the third party the holders of plant breeders rights shall be entitled to receive license fees. The selected licenses represent main source for covering of constantly growing costs of breeding. The particular contractual producers, which ensure the production and also put the reproduction material into market, shall be obliged to pay to the breeders the licence fees for using of the certified reproduction material according to the Law No. 219/2003 Sb. (Code of Law) On putting the seeds into market circulation.

The Decree of the Council (EC)

No. 2100/94 On varieties rights of the Communities and, at the same time also the Law No. 408/ 2000 Sb. (Code of Law) enables to the growers for the listed species to use, under specified conditions, the protected varieties even without previous consent of the holder of the plant breeders rights, namely in the form of farmers seeds. For this means of using of the reproduction material the growers shall be obliged, according to the legislation, to declare the extent of using and to pay the adequate compensation to the holders of plant breeders rights. The compensation for using of the farmers seeds represents another source for covering the costs of breeding.

The holders of plant breeders rights in the Czech Republic and the representatives of the foreign holders have established a join company- Družstvo vlastníků odrůd (Variety Owners´ Cooperative). The main subject of activity of this company is obtaining the necessary information and collection of farm saved seed remuneration. The other no less important activities include collecting of license fees /royalties/ and protection of rights of the holders of plant varieties, used on the Czech agriculture (production control, putting into market circulation and using of varieties protected by law in compliance with the legislation in force)

The constituent meeting

of the Družstvo vlastníků odrůd (Variety Owners´ Cooperative) was held in December 13th, 2002.

The charter members of the cooperative became

• SELGEN, a.s. 170 47 Praha 7, Jankovcova 18, Reg. No. 47 11 60 99
• OSEVA PRO s.r.o. 170 47 Praha 7, Jankovcova 18, Reg. No. 49 61 65 52
• CEBECO SEEDS s.r.o. 198 00 Praha 9, Podedvorská 755/5, Reg. No. 62 58 74 98
• OSEVA UNI, a.s. 565 14 Choceň, Na Bílé 1231 Reg. No. 15 06 16 12
• SEMPRA PRAHA a.s. 170 41 Praha 7, U topíren 2 Reg. No. 45 79 74 39

Družstvo vlastníků odrůd (Variety Owners´ Cooperative) is an association of corporate bodies and natural persons, owners of plant varieties in the Czech Republic and representatives of the owners of foreign varieties.

The written application and decision of the members´ meeting  is condition the membership in the cooperative.

The place of business of the cooperative is Troubsko, Jihlavská 320/2, ZIP-code 664 41.

Cooperation bodies:

Board of directors

• Ing. Pavel Kutmon - chairman
• Ing. Jan Grůza  - vice chairman
• Ing. Jiří Beran - member
• Ing. Jiří Horák - member
• Ing. Milan Pavlíček - member

Control commission

• Ing. Antonín Doleček - chairman
• Ing. Václav Blažek, CSc. - member
• Ing. Petr Laml - member