1. Introduction; 2. The emergence of the UPOV Convention: a new context of plant breeding and dissatisfaction with existing forms of protection; 3. UPOV's legitimacy: from members and trade to objectives, structure and norms; 4. Recognising plant breeders, protecting discoveries; 5. The proliferation, politicisation and legalisation of plant varieties; 6. Bringing order and stability to variety denomination; 7. Science isn't enough: genotypes, phenotypes and the utilitarian nature of plant variety rights schemes; 8. Expanding protected material: embedding legal language and practices in the UPOV Convention; 9. Examining and identifying essentially derived varieties: the place of science, law and cooperation; 10. Saving and exchanging seeds: licenses, levies and speculation; 11. The nature of UPOV and the UPOV Convention.