Put our expertise to YOUR advantage. COPF provides support and confidential advice on protection and enforcement of breeders' rights.

Place your trust in our comprehensive program which offers over three decades of experience with over 100 breeders and more than 550 growers. Give us a call and together we can map out a strategy to protect your interests. Our knowledge of the Canadian market enables COPF to put you in touch with the leading producers and marketing companies.

Plant breeders who want to have their intellectual property rights recognized have three options in Canada:

1. Register the plants with COPF and we have a share of royalties for administration, or we     can enforce your PBR on a fee-for-services basis.

2. Apply for a Plant Breeders' Right

3. Do both.

Factors in your decision: 

Cost: Registration with COPF costs $50 per variety. PBR costs approximately $1500 Canadian plus $300 per year for renewal.

Royalty Collections: Royalty collection is the main function of COPF. With PBR, the responsibility for collecting royalties rests with the breeder.

Foreign Breeders: In order to obtain PBR, it is necessary to have a test site in Canada Royalty

Royalty Enforcement: COPF enforces the payment of royalties through its contracts with members. Those members who don't pay can be sued for breach of contract. With a PBR, non-payers can be sued for infringement under the PBR Act.

Market size: It can be argued that PBR is expensive for the size of the Canadian consumer market. It may be more realistic to look at the output of Canadian producers with easy access to the US market.

PBR and COPF work together to provide comprehensive protection of a breeder's rights.

COPF serves the interests of plant breeders, greenhouse and nursery growers, propagators, research scientists and botanical gardens by helping to provide a financial base for plant breeding.

The amount of royalties COPF grower members pay to support the work of breeders is impressive. In 2000, over $1.75 million in royalties were collected.

We can refer you to growers according to your specific needs and we can administer your licenses. If you provide only an exclusive license, we can monitor propagation of your varieties on a fee-for-services basis. We have field representatives in the major growing areas of Canada, and we can act as your eyes and ears here to protect your Breeders' Rights.

Members currently report on more than 2,100 COPF registered plants. Among woody ornamentals, Spiraea x japonica 'Goldmound', Buxus 'Green Velvet' and Weigela florida 'Minuet' are our top three cultivars. Trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials and roses are the plant groups included on our list.

Floral crops which generate income for plant breeders are chrysanthemum, pot rose, lobelia, begonia, callibrachoa, verbena, poinsettia, geranium, kalanchoe, osteospermum, dahlia, petunia and impatiens.

The COPF office sends royalty report forms two to four times a year, depending on the crop grown. These reports list COPF registered plants and the royalty rates per cutting. Members report on the number of cuttings or other propagule, or on sales made for each cultivar. These quantities multiplied by the royalty rate determine the total royalty owing. Members return the royalty report with their cheque to the COPF office.

Funds collected in trust for breeders are held until the end of the quarter. COPF retains 12-15% of the total amount earned by each plant to cover administrative costs. The balance is distributed to the breeders. Breeders who do not live in Canada are subject to non-resident withholding tax (usually 10%). All members complete a one-page application form and sign a contractual agreement.

Join COPF Today !