Purchasing foreign test results in lieu of conducting tests and trials in Canada

In certain cases, results from a foreign DUS trial may be accepted when purchased from the Plant Breeders' Rights Office in a UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) member country. For species requiring two growing cycles of trials, one of these cycles would essentially be replaced by the foreign test results and the applicant would only be required to conduct one year of comparative tests and trials in Canada to verify the description of the variety.

However, in the case of an asexually reproduced variety requiring only one cycle of growing trials, comparative tests and trials do not have to be conducted in Canada at all if a foreign test report is purchased from the authority in another UPOV member country. To allow the purchase of foreign test results, in lieu of conducting trials in Canada, the following conditions must be met:

1. the variety must have been tested and found to be distinct, uniform and stable (DUS) in a member country of UPOV;
2. the trials must have been grown and examined in a controlled greenhouse environment in the UPOV member country following official UPOV test guidelines and testing procedures;
3. the trials should include the varieties of common knowledge in Canada as reference varieties. If the foreign test results do not include varieties of common knowledge in Canada, additional testing in Canada may be required. However, if the variety is so clearly distinct from all Canadian varieties of common knowledge, further trials to establish DUS may not be warranted;
4. there must be sufficient data and descriptive information available from the foreign tests to allow for publication of the variety description in an acceptable format in the Plant Varieties Journal.
5. a photograph demonstrating the distinguishing characteristic(s) of the variety must still be submitted in support of the application.

Although the purchase of the official test results is arranged through the PBR Office, the fees associated with the purchase, and subsequent translation, if required, are the responsibility of the applicant and/or agent. In addition, payment of the examination fee in Canada remains a requirement regardless of whether foreign test results have been purchased. The description of the variety will still require publication in the Plant Varieties Journal and be subjected to the usual six (6) month objection period.

The PBR Office will require additional testing in Canada if the DUS requirements for the variety to proceed to grant of rights have not been met in the foreign test report.