Monthly Archives: December 2012

Chilean Court Awards US$4.4 Million for Plant Variety Rights Infringement

On November 14, 2012, a trial court in Talagante, a province in the Santiago Metropolitan Region in central Chile, ordered two agricultural companies to pay nearly US$4.4 million for infringing the plant variety rights of José Domingo Godoy Huidobro, the breeder … Continue reading

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Colombian Court Strikes Down Law Approving 1991 Plant Variety Protection Convention

On December 5, 2012, Colombia’s Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional a 2012 law by which the National Congress approved the country’s accession to the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Convention). Sentencia … Continue reading

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European Parliament Committee Adopts Biopiracy & Intellectual Property Report

On December 6, 2012, members of the European Parliament Development Committee voted to adopt a report that condemned, and proposed solutions to, “biopiracy”–the exploitation of indigenous knowledge or genetic resources of a developing country without permission or sharing in benefits … Continue reading

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Italian Court Awards Damages for Plant Breeders’ Rights Infringement

Netherlands seed company Rijk Zwaan announced this week that a court in Milan, Italy has ordered the Italian company Agriseeds to pay Rijk Zwaan €205,701 in damages for unlawfully reproducing lettuce plants of a variety over which the Dutch company … Continue reading

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