US apple brand Pink Lady America has failed in its bid to have an Australian-owned community plant variety registration overturned at the EU General Court.
In its judgment, handed down on September 24, the General Court ruled that the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) was correct in determining that the Western Australian Agriculture Authority’s (WAAA) Cripps Pink apple variety was novel at the time it was registered.
The General Court ruled that the WAAA was entitled to a grace period of six years before the regulation became law in 1995 for sales of the Cripps Pink apple within the EU, or six years before the filing of the plant variety application for sales outside the EU.
Source: Wipr