10/09/2020 – Webinar 2: PVP Applications via UPOV PRISMA. Use of MolTech in DUS Process

Mr Philippe Benjamin (Ben) Rivoire joined UPOV in 2012, after having started his career in the fruit production sector in Spain and Africa and in the vegetable breeding industry. Ben is now the Head of Seed Sector Cooperation and Regional Development (Africa, Arab Countries) in UPOV. On the technical side, he is in charge of the support for the UPOV Technical Working Parties for Fruit Crops and Vegetables. On the development and regional side, he is contributing to the delivery of UPOV’s program of assistance in Africa and the Middle East and in charge of the Cooperation with the Seed sector. Last but not least, from the business perspective, he is in charge of UPOV PRISMA, the PBR On-line Application Tool, driving the Tool development in line with the needs and expectations of the applicants and the breeding industry.

Mr Manabu Suzuki joined the UPOV Office on June 1, 2020, as a Technical/Regional Officer (Asia). Mr Suzuki, a national of Japan, holds an M.S. degree in Agricultural Science. From 2000 to 2009, he worked as a Technical Officer in the Production Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) and as an Assistant Director for the Assistant Director for Coordination Division, Secretariat of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council.  Between 2009 and 2012, he worked at the Embassy of Japan in India as a Second Secretary in the Economic Section. In 2012, he returned to MAFF as Deputy Director, Plant Quarantine Office, Plant Protection Division, followed by the position of the Deputy Director of the Research Policy Planning Division. In 2017, Mr Suzuki became Deputy Director, Plant Variety Protection Office, Intellectual Property Division at MAFF, where his responsibilities included management of the Plant Variety Protection policy at international and national level.

Cornelis (Kees) van Ettekoven has been active in horticulture and Plant Variety Protection for over 45 years. Kees worked in various positions at Naktuinbouw, the Netherlands Inspection Service for Horticulture, consecutively serving as a Head of IT Department, the Registration and Documentation Department, and the Variety Testing Department, overseeing the Dutch DUS testing of all species for Plant Breeders’ Rights and National Listing. Today, Kees serves as a Senior PVP Policy Advisor, is a member of the Plant Breeders’ Rights chamber of the Court of Justice in the Hague, and coordinates the IPKey program for China, Latin America and South-East Asia at the CPVO. At UPOV, he is a past Chairman of the UPOV Technical Committee, the UPOV Technical Working Group Vegetables, and the UPOV Working Group on Biochemical and Molecular Techniques and DNA-Profiling in Particular (BMT).

Leontino Taveira is Head of Technical Affairs and Regional Development at UPOV. He works with policymakers in Latin America and the Caribbean promoting accession to UPOV and assisting the implementation of the UPOV system. With a background in agriculture and plant breeding, he is in charge of organizing the technical work of UPOV, including the development of Test Guidelines and guidance for examination of distinctness, uniformity and stability. Leontino started his career in the private sector as agronomist and nursery manager for ornamental plant production. For the past 18 years, he has worked with Plant Variety Protection in the public sector, both at the national and international levels.