Hot Topics
ISF Trade Rules, Mediation, Conciliation, and Arbitration
Following the expansion of the seed industry in the early 20th century, the seed community first gathered in 1924 to develop a common set of rules for international seed trade, back then mainly directed to forage and vegetable seeds.
Four years later, the first official Trade and Arbitration Rules of the “Fédération Internationale des Semences” were officially adopted. Since then, it has governed thousands of contracts around the world to standardize contractual relations between buyers and sellers.
To solve disputes arising from the execution of sales contracts, the first FIS rules for international arbitration procedures were adopted in 1930. Over the years, the rules have been regularly reviewed, and the concepts of mediation and conciliation have been added. Additionally, dedicated rules have been established to resolve disputes related to the management of intellectual property rights in the field of plant breeding.
- ISF Arbitration Decision Flowchart for Seed-Related Disputes
- Yes/No flowchart: I experienced an issue with the performance of a contract.
In 2024, the Annual General Meeting of ISF adopted a significant change in the management of conciliation, mediation, and arbitration procedures to harmonize decisions and enhance the professional handling of the process. The organization of dispute resolution now lies with the ISF Chamber of Arbitration, except for a few national associations—France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, and Australia (contact details)—which retain the capacity to organize conciliation, mediation, and arbitration.
Trade Rules
Dispute Resolution
Intellectual Property and EDV
Trade Rules
The ISF Rules and Usages for Trade in Seed for Sowing Purposes aim to clarify and standardize contractual relations between buyers and sellers. The rules are reviewed at regular intervals. The latest version came into effect on 1 July 2024.
In case of a dispute, the applicable Trade Rules are those in force at the signing of the contract.
To access previous versions of the ISF Rules and Usages for the Trade in Seeds for Sowing Purposes, please contact the Secretariat of ISF Arbitration Chamber at arbitration@worldseed.org
Dispute Resolution
ISF’s trade rules are complemented by procedure rules for mediation, conciliation and/or arbitration for resolving disputes on trade and intellectual property issues. ISF Procedure Rules for Dispute Settlement for the Trade in Seeds for Sowing Purposes and for Management of Intellectual Property are reviewed regularly and the last version came into effect on 1 July 2024.
One of the major changes of the revision of the rules in 2024, is to harmonize the process of dispute resolutions by delegating the organization to ISF Secretariat and the creation of ISF Arbitration Chamber. A few national associations wished to keep the organization of conciliation, mediation, and arbitration at the national level, and act when they are the Seller or multiplier’s country.
The ISF Board of Directors appoints arbitrators to serve in case of a request for conciliation, mediation, and arbitration.
- Find out more about arbitrators
- Find out more about the dispute management process
In case of a dispute, the applicable Rules are those in force at the signature of the contract.
To access previous versions of the ISF Procedure Rules for Dispute Settlement, please contact the Secretariat of ISF Chamber of Arbitration at arbitration@worldseed.org.
Intellectual Property and EDV
The ISF Rules for Dispute Settlement also provides a specialized arbitration, mediation, and conciliation framework for resolving disputes related to intellectual property rights in the seed sector. These procedures are particularly suited for disputes arising from the implementation, interpretation, or performance of contracts involving research collaboration, licensing, and the management or transfer of IPRs, including disputes on Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs).
Any parties (whether or not they are ISF members) can decide to submit any IP dispute to resolution by the ISF Arbitration Chamber, under the ISF Rules for Dispute Settlement before or after a dispute has arisen (see part C art. 1).
In particular, even if an existing contract does not specify in advance that potential ensuing disputes are subject to ISF arbitration, the contracting parties can agree to submit their dispute to arbitration after a dispute has arisen.
The organization of an arbitration, conciliation, or mediation case is very similar to the Trade disputes but a list of arbitrators specialized in IP and EDV has been appointed by the ISF Board of Directors.
For further information on Essentially Derived Varieties, see the dedicated part on the ISF View on Intellectual Property.
ISF has developed “EDV threshold” guidelines for some crops to help determine the genetic conformity between a putative EDV and an initial variety.