Workshops & Webinars on IP for Plants and Plant Breeding

Our Learner Community

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!

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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.

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Students Learn for Less

Enrolled students receive a 70% discount on the Member Workshop ticket

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Prof. Dr. Kai Voss-Fels
Professor of Plant Breeding at Geisenheim University

Prof. Dr. Kai Voss-Fels is Professor of Plant Breeding at Geisenheim University, Germany where he leads a new institute that focusses on genetics and breeding of horticultural crops, mainly grapevine. After completing his PhD at Justus Liebig University in Giessen in 2016, he was a senior research fellow and group leader at the University of Queensland, Australia from 2017-2021. His research aims at developing and implementing genomics-assisted breeding approaches for accelerating crop improvement. Kai has worked across a range of crops incl. wheat, barley, sugarcane, rapeseed, chickpea and grapevine. He works closely with leading national and international partners across the public and private sectors. Kai has won several prestigious awards and has published his research outcomes in over 50 peer-reviewed articles.

Prof. Dr. Rex Bernardo
Professor and Endowed Chair in Corn Breeding and Genetics,
Director Plant Breeding Center,
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota

Rex Bernardo is professor and endowed chair in maize breeding and genetics at the University of Minnesota. He obtained his undergraduate degree in the Philippines in 1984 and his Ph.D. degree in plant breeding from the University of Illinois in 1988. Dr. Bernardo pioneered the use of molecular markers for predictive breeding starting in 1994, and most of his work has focused on marker-assisted breeding. Dr. Bernardo is director of the Plant Breeding Center at Minnesota, has written two textbooks, and teaches graduate courses in plant breeding and in professional skills for scientists and a college freshman course on coffee.

Dr. Bettina Berger
Associate Professor, Grant-Funded Researcher

With a background in biotechnology and a PhD in molecular plant biology, A/Prof Bettina Berger used a two-year fellowship at the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics to focus on the then emerging field of plant phenomics. Since 2010, A/Prof Berger has worked at the Adelaide node of the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility and in 2015 became Scientific Director. She enjoys the diversity of working in a national research facility, with a whole range of different users, research questions and challenges on a daily basis. A/Prof Berger has focused on establishing protocols and methods for high-throughput screening of various plant species in controlled environments using imaging technology to help the research community take advantage of the benefits that modern phenotyping techniques have to offer.

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!

“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."