The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, known as "UPOV", is an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Geneva. The acronym UPOV is derived from the organisation's French name, 'Union internationale pour la protection des obtentions végétales'.
UPOV is based on the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants ("UPOV Convention"), adopted in Geneva on 19 March 1991, and aims to ensure exclusive property rights for breeders of new plant varieties on the basis of a common and clearly defined set of principles.
On 30 August 2002, Latvia became a Member State of UPOV by acceding to the 1991 UPOV Convention. This means that all issues related to the protection of plant breeders' rights in Latvia are dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the UPOV Convention and are regulated by the "Law on the Protection of Plant Varieties".
For more information, please visit the UPOV website.