Workshops & Webinars on IP for Plants and Plant Breeding

The CIOPORA Academy is a unique education program on Intellectual Property protection for plant innovations. Over 300 horticulture professionals (and counting!) have visited our workshops and webinars. Subscribe to our event notifications and join in!

Become a member!

CIOPORA members and supporters enjoy 50% off all CIOPORA and CIOPORA Academy events. Join our global breeder community and contribute to CIOPORA's advocacy on IP for plants.

Become a member

#ThursdayIsLearnDay

Adopt the #ThursdayIsLearnDay motto for regular learning on IP for plants! Our webinars always take place Thursdays allowing for an easier integration into your work schedule. For schedule updates:

What is The CIOPORA Academy?

The CIOPORA Academy is a specialized international education program on IP for plants tailored to the needs of the green sector. The formats include small-group workshops held several times a year in different locations across the world and live webinars. Our lecturers are renowned IP experts and experienced legal practitioners.

Who should enroll?

The CIOPORA Academy offers workshops and webinars for breeders, propagators, growers, traders active in horticulture, as well as students of agricultural and horticultural specializations. Our workshops may also be beneficial for IPR managers, IP lawyers, in-house counsels and patent attorneys looking to expand their expertise in the unique area of plant IP.

What will I learn?

The CIOPORA Academy combines learning and networking. It encompasses all areas of IP Protection relevant to players of the green business, including but not limited to Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR), Plant Patents, Patents for plant-related inventions, and Trademarks for plant products. The webinars are broadcasted live with two sessions each to accommodate all time zones.

What is the cost?

Workshop and webinar fees vary and depend on topics, location and the number of modules offered in each workshop/webinar. CIOPORA members and supporters enjoy 50% discount on all regular rates. The program also offers up to 70% discounts for enrolled students. Students: please reach out to us for more information!

Alanna Rennie is an Associate at law firm Baker McKenzie in Sydney (Australia), where she practices Mergers and Acquisitions and plant Intellectual Property. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with honors from Bond University, Gold Coast, and a Masters in Chinese Law from Tsinghua University, Beijing. Alanna’s Master’s thesis was on Plant Breeder’s Rights in China, where she engaged closely with China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the State Forestry and Grasslands Administration, international plant breeders active in or looking to enter the Chinese market, and other stakeholders. Alanna worked with CIOPORA in 2018, where she assisted the association with its activities in China, and continues to assist CIOPORA on various projects in Australia and China in a pro bono capacity. In her capacity at Baker McKenzie and through her work with CIOPORA, Alanna has worked closely with breeding companies on their commercial and intellectual property strategies in China and Australia as well as on novel enforcement issues.

Andrew Sim is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Hong Kong office and a member of the Firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group, where he leads the IP enforcement and litigation practice for Hong Kong.

He is the Global Chair of the Plant Variety Rights Practice, which includes registration and enforcement of plant breeders’ rights. Andrew also heads the Food and Beverage (F&B) Industry Practice Group in the Greater China region and advises on all F&B related areas, including consumer, regulatory, food safety, advertisements, franchising as well as internet laws, and regulations.

Fleur Tuinzing-Westerhuis is a Counsel at Houtfoff (The Netherlands) and specializes in technology-related Intellectual Property matters, with focus on Patents and Plant Variety Rights. In her daily practice, Fleur represents a wide variety of domestic and international companies that are active in technology-intensive business sectors, such as agrifood and biotech. Fleur is an experienced patent litigator and is one of a handful of lawyers in the Netherlands with extensive experience in litigation relating to national and Community Plant Variety Rights. Over the past seventeen years, Fleur has litigated in various cases before the Dutch courts, the Dutch Board of Plant Varieties and the CPVO. Furthermore, Fleur has broad experience in advising on commercial contracts, including R&D agreements, license and technology transfer agreements.

Thomas Leidereiter is an attorney and the owner of Green Rights in Hamburg, Germany. With nearly two decades’ experience as a specialized IP lawyer, including 14 years at a major German law firm and five years at his own, he has extensive expertise covering Plant Variety Protection, trademarks, designs, copyright and competition law. Thomas advises clients on all aspects of IP protection for plant innovations, including the licensing and enforcement of IP rights. He has been involved in a number of major court cases dealing with fundamental PVR issues in the ornamental and fruit sector. Thomas is a member of INTA, the German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR), CIOPORA and CIOPORA Germany. He is a regular speaker on IP topics with several associations and institutions.

Philippe is a Partner at Altius (Belgium) and specialises in Intellectual Property law, with a particular focus on Patents, Plant Variety Rights and parallel import issues. Philippe also has extensive experience in regulatory matters concerning the life sciences and agri-food industries. Other areas of practice include medical law, media law and fair trade practices in a variety of sectors.

Philippe regularly lectures at conferences and seminars and publishes articles in various leading legal journals relating to his area of expertise.

He has worked as a consultant for the EU Plant Variety Office and is also an active member of various lawyer and sector organisations, including: the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW), Euroseeds, the Licensing Executives Society (LES), and the International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Horticultural Plants (CIOPORA).

“The CIOPORA workshop held in August 2019 in St. Charles/Chicago was a great opportunity to meet with companies active in asexually propagated plants and discuss common challenges in the protection of our crops. The topics were timely and relevant. The session on UPOV, Breeder’s Exemption, and U.S. Plant Patent Law was particularly interesting, as it provided real-life examples of the cross-border legal scenarios. Thanks to the CIOPORA team for always putting together a thoughtful and well-run program"

Amy Martin

Director Legal Affairs at Driscoll’s, Inc.

"CIOPORA Academy workshop was a great opportunity to learn varying perspectives on plant IP. All topics presented had value as they pertain to my daily work; however, I was particularly interested in the topics on Utility Patents and Plant Variety Protection (PVP) for asexually reproduced plants. Both speakers provided in-depth analysis of the different scope of protections under these two systems. The comfortable atmosphere of the workshops at the Hotel Baker was a wonderful location to network with like-minded colleagues."