Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2019:244
Date: 2019-04-11
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: Intellectual, industrial and commercial property;Plant varieties
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Italy

summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 21, first para., and Art. 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 177(1)(d)) (see para. 9) 2. Agriculture — Uniform legislation — Protection of plant varieties — Decisions of the CPVO or its Boards of Appeal — Judicial review — Scope — Limits (Council Regulation No 2100/94, Art. 73) (see paras 13, 36-38, 67) 3. Agriculture — Uniform legislation — Protection of plant varieties — Decisions of the CPVO or its Boards of Appeal — Obligation to state reasons — Scope (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 2100/94, Art. 75) (see paras 19, 20) 4. Action for annulment — Pleas in law — Lack of or inadequate statement of reasons — Separate ground from the one concerning substantive legality (Arts 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see para. 21) 5. Agriculture — Uniform legislation — Protection of plant varieties — Appeals procedure — Appeal brought against a decision of the Community Plant Variety Office and referred to the Board of Appeal — Examination of the facts by the CPVO of its own motion — Obligation to examine carefully and impartially all the relevant aspects — Scope (Council Regulation No 2100/94, Arts 10, 54, 55 and 76; Commission Regulation No 874/2009, Art. 51) (see paras 32, 41) 6. Agriculture — Uniform legislation — Protection of plant varieties — Declaration annulling a right improperly granted — Discretion of the Community Plant Variety Office — Re-examination of the protected variety — Conditions — Serious doubts as to the legality of the grant of the right (Council Regulation No 2100/94, Arts 10, 20, 54 and 55) (see para. 33) 7. Agriculture — Uniform legislation — Protection of plant varieties — Declaration annulling a right improperly granted — Request to open nullity proceedings — Burden of proof on the applicant (Council Regulation No 2100/94, Arts 20(1)(a), 54 and 55) (see paras 34, 35) 8. Agriculture — Uniform legislation — Protection of plant varieties — Decision to grant or refuse protection — Appeals procedure — Probative value of the evidence — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 2100/94, Art. 78(1)(g)) (see para. 51) Re Action brought against the decision of the Board of Appeal of the CPVO of 16 August 2017 (Case A 005/2016) concerning the nullity proceedings between Kiku and the Sächsisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft und Geologie. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Kiku GmbH to pay the costs.