TITLE: Republic of Korea Accedes to the UPOV Convention AUTHOR: Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) PUBLICATION: UPOV Press Release No. 49 DATE: 7 December 2001 URL: http://www.upov.int/eng/prssrlss/49.htm UPOV Press Release No. 49 Geneva, December 7, 2001 REPUBLIC OF KOREA ACCEDES TO THE UPOV CONVENTION Today the Republic of Korea became the fiftieth member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The purpose of the UPOV Convention is to encourage the development of new varieties of plants by granting breeders an intellectual property right on the basis of a set of clearly defined principles. To be eligible for protection, varieties need to satisfy certain conditions, such as being distinct from existing, commonly known varieties and sufficiently uniform and stable. New varieties of plants are one of the most powerful tools to enhance food production in a sustainable way, to increase income in the agricultural sector and to contribute to overall development. The Secretary-General of UPOV, Dr. Kamil Idris, welcomed the deposit of the instrument of accession of the Republic of Korea to the UPOV Convention (1991 Act) and expressed his satisfaction that UPOV has now reached fifty members. The members of UPOV are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea (as from January 7, 2002), Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay. UPOV, an intergovernmental organization based in Geneva, cooperates in administrative matters with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). For further information about UPOV, contact the UPOV Secretariat: E-mail: upov.mail(at)wipo.int Website: http://www.upov.int