**Abstract**

The term "essentially derived varieties" (EDVs) was introduced by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) to prevent the exploitation of minor changes in relation to the initial plant variety (IV), without the holder of the IV right being able to share in the revenues. A plant variety is deemed an EDV when it is predominantly derived from the IV, or from a variety that is itself predominantly derived from the IV, while retaining the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype of the IV. Molecular markers can be used to characterize plant genetic resources and to provide measures of genetic (dis)similarities between plant varieties. Genetic distance estimates based on molecular markers are a preferred approach to estimate genetic conformity between putative EDVs and their IVs. Numerous publications have shown the advantages of molecular markers, their high throughput, high map resolution, and high repeatability for determination of EDVs. They help reduce the legal uncertainty surrounding the EDV concept, thus providing a more predictable business environment that allows genetic diversity to be surveyed with ever-increasing effectiveness, improving the selection of new genotypes that are optimally able to perform in target agricultural environments.

**Keywords:** essentially derived variety (EDV), UPOV, molecular markers, intellectual property, plant variety protection, plant breeders' rights
