(8) Where a variety is offered for sale or otherwise marketed, it shall be permissible to
use a trademark or service mark, a trade name or similar designation in conjunction with the
registered variety denomination, subject to the denomination remaining easily recognizable.
Article 24
Grounds for Refusal of a Denomination
(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Convention and the rules adopted by the
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, a designation shall be
refused registration as a denomination if:
(a) it does not conform to the provisions of Article 23;
(b) it is not suitable for identifying the variety, notably for want of distinctiveness or
linguistic suitability;
(c) it is contrary to public policy or morality;
(d) it is composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of serving, in the plant
variety and seed sector, to denote the species, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value,
geographical origin or time of production;
(e) it is liable to mislead or confuse as to the characteristics, value or geographical
origin of the variety, or as to the links between the variety and persons such as the breeder or
the applicant, or
(f) it is identical or confusingly similar to a denomination that designates, on the
territory of one of the member States, or of a Contracting Party of the International
Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, an existing variety of the same or a
closely related species, except where that existing variety is no longer exploited and its
denomination has not acquired any particular significance.
(1)(a) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Convention and the rules adopted by
the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, registration as a variety
denomination shall also be refused for a designation comprising an element that hampers or is
liable to hamper the free use of the denomination with respect to the variety, in particular any
element the registration of which as a trademark for products associated with the variety
would be refused under trademark law.
(b) Such designations shall be refused registration on the opposition of the owner of the
rights in the element concerned, filed in writing with the Organization.
Article 25
Denomination Registration Procedure
(1)(a) The denomination proposed for the variety for which protection is sought shall
be filed at the same time as the application.
(b) On payment of a special fee and the proposal of a provisional designation in the
application, the applicant may defer the denomination registration procedure. In that case the
applicant shall submit the proposed denomination within the time limit specified by the
Organization. If no proposal is submitted within the time allowed, the application shall be
rejected.
(2) The Organization shall publish the denomination proposal unless it notes the
existence of a ground for refusal under Article 24(1) or has knowledge of a ground for refusal
under Article 24(2)(a). The proposal shall also be communicated to the relevant services of