Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2004:104
Date: 2004-02-17
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property;Plant varieties
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment Agriculture – Uniform legislation – Protection of plant varieties – Article 14(3) of Regulation No 2100/94 and Article 9 of Regulation No 1768/95 – Possibility for the holder of a Community right to request information where there is some indication that a supplier of processing services is processing the protected product (Council Regulation No 2100/94, Art. 14(2) and (3); Council Regulation No 1768/95, Art. 9) The sixth indent of Article 14(3) of Regulation No 2100/94 on Community plant variety rights in conjunction with Article 9 of Regulation No 1768/95 implementing rules on the agricultural exemption provided for in Article 14(3) of Regulation No 2100/94 allows the holder of a Community plant variety right to request a supplier of processing services to provide the relevant information which he has obtained through ordinary performance of his tasks, without additional burden or costs, where the holder has some indication that the latter has processed or intends to process the product of the harvest obtained by farmers by planting propagating material of a variety belonging to the holder, other than a hybrid or synthetic variety, which is covered by that right and belongs to one of the agricultural plant species listed in Article 14(2) of Regulation No 2100/94, for planting. In such a case, the processor is required to provide the holder with the relevant information relating not only to the farmers for whom the holder has some indication that the processor has provided or intends to provide such services but also to all other farmers for whom he has processed or intends to process the product of the harvest obtained by planting propagating material of the variety concerned, where that variety has been declared or is otherwise known to him. (see paras 54, 66, operative part 1-2)