Questions on the law of evidence in plant variety infringement proceedings

Legal context. Section 940 of the German Civil Procedure Actproviding interim injunctions is applicable, inter alia, inthe enforcement of Plant Variety Rights. Key points. The nature of plants, as living organisms, meansthat the enforcement of intellectual property rights againstalleged infringers raises issues of proof and evidence thatare unique to their subject matter. Practical significance. Interim injunctions have great practicalimportance in Plant Variety infringement cases. Significantevidence problems exist due to the natural variations in plants.This article discusses the practical requirements for establishingevidence of infringement of plant variety rights in actionson the merits as well as in interim injunction proceedings.     

The wheels on the train go round and round ...

Granted patents prohibit any third party who lacks the patentholder's consent from making or from putting on the market orusing a product which is the subject matter of the patent. Moreover,the German Patent Act also prohibits indirect use of the invention.     

It's in the touch

The Federal Supreme Court decides on the requirements pertainingto how a touch mark must be graphically reproduced/describedin a trademark application.     

The offering of patent-infringing goods for delivery subsequent to expiry of patents as patent infringment

Offering goods, which are (partly) the subject matter of a patent,shortly before expiry of the term of protection constitutespatent infringement, even if the advertising material indicatesthat the goods will be available on the market following expirationof protection.     

The cornerstones of plant variety protection in India

Traditionally, India—with a high proportion of small farmers—hasbeen cautious in granting IP rights in food and living matter.As India is one of the fastest developing countries, both interms of industry and in its population, the plant breedingand farming industry in India may be expected to play an importantrole in coping with these problems, as the government has realized.For this reason and in order to comply with its obligationsunder Article 27 of the TRIPs Agreement, in 2001 India passedthe Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers' Rights Act (PVPAct). The constraint arising out of a market situation which is determinedmainly by traditional rights of farmers, by the size of thefarms and the dependency of a significant section of the availablerural area, requires a system     

'Equitable remuneration' for non-licensed propagation of agricultural plant varieties

While the propagation of plant varieties may not be pursuedwithout the consent of the holder in the rights of a Communityplant variety, Article 14(1) of Council Regulation 2100/94 onCommunity plant variety rights (the Basic Regulation) providesan exception to this rule.