Since 1961, the protection of industrial property on plant varieties has been ensured by the Proprietary Variety Certificate (COV) within the framework of the Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants "Union pour la Protection des Obtentions végétales (UPOV)".
The protection of plant varieties in France is governed by Articles L.623-1 to L. 623-25 and Articles R. 623-1 to R. 623-58 of the Intellectual Property Code (ICC).