# C_2021502EN.01000201.xml

| 13.12.2021 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 502/2 |
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13.12.2021

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 502/2

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Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 14 October 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo — Spain) — José Cánovas Pardo SL v Club de Variedades Vegetales Protegidas

(Case C-186/18) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Community plant variety rights - Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 - Article 96 - Calculation of the period of prescription for claims pursuant to Articles 94 and 95 - Point from which time starts to run - Date of grant of Community rights and of knowledge of the act and of the identity of the party liable - Date on which the course of action in question ceased - Repeated acts - Continuous acts - Restricted to acts carried out more than three years ago)

(2021/C 502/02)

Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Tribunal Supremo

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: José Cánovas Pardo SL

Defendant: Club de Variedades Vegetales Protegidas

Operative part of the judgment

| 1. | Article 96 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights must be interpreted as meaning that, irrespective of the ongoing nature of an act of infringement of a protected variety or of the date on which that act ended, the three-year period of prescription set out in that provision in respect of claims pursuant to Articles 94 and 95 of that regulation starts to run from the date on which, first, the Community plant variety right was finally granted and, second, the holder of the right had knowledge of the act and of the identity of the party liable; |
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1.

Article 96 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights must be interpreted as meaning that, irrespective of the ongoing nature of an act of infringement of a protected variety or of the date on which that act ended, the three-year period of prescription set out in that provision in respect of claims pursuant to Articles 94 and 95 of that regulation starts to run from the date on which, first, the Community plant variety right was finally granted and, second, the holder of the right had knowledge of the act and of the identity of the party liable;

| 2. | Article 96 of Regulation No 2100/94 must be interpreted as meaning that claims pursuant to Articles 94 and 95 of that regulation in respect of a set of acts of infringement of a protected variety brought after more than three years have elapsed are time barred only from when, first, the Community plant variety right was finally granted and, second, the right holder had knowledge of each individual act forming part of that set of acts and of the identity of the party liable for them. |
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2.

Article 96 of Regulation No 2100/94 must be interpreted as meaning that claims pursuant to Articles 94 and 95 of that regulation in respect of a set of acts of infringement of a protected variety brought after more than three years have elapsed are time barred only from when, first, the Community plant variety right was finally granted and, second, the right holder had knowledge of each individual act forming part of that set of acts and of the identity of the party liable for them.

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(1)  OJ C 211, 18.6.2018.

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