The Court of Ragusa sentenced a farmer in Vittoria, in the province of Ragusa, where four greenhouses were found to be cultivating a PBR protected tomato variety without the required authorisation. This is the first ruling of its type in Italy.

The process began with a complaint filed by the AIB (Anti-Infringement Bureau for Intellectual Property Rights in Plant Material), an international association established under Belgian law whose objective is to fight against illegal activity in the seed sector. During the investigation DNA analysis was carried out on the farmer’s crops, which confirmed the presence of the PBR protected tomato variety in its greenhouses. The Ragusa financial police confirmed that the company was unable to provide purchase invoices for seedlings of the protected variety or other documentation demonstrating the legitimate origin of the seeds used.

The farmer was sentenced on 20 November, 2019 in accordance with Article 517 ter of the Criminal Code, which penalises the manufacture and trade of goods made by usurping industrial property rights. In addition to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of € 15,000 the defendant is required to pay damages totaling € 70,000 to both AIB and the company that owns the Plant Breeders Rights on the tomato variety, that brought a civil action, represented respectively by lawyers Nicola Novaro and Rossella Pola.

The sentence creates a significant precedent in the seed sector, because it gives criminal significance to the widespread technique of reproducing plants covered by Plant Breeders Rights with cuttings or "stubs" of plants, a practice which can damage the protected rights of the owners of the varieties, under which each seed purchased must correspond to only one plant.

"We are very satisfied with the ruling,” explains Casper van Kempen, Managing Director of AIB. “Breeding companies invest on average between 20-25% of net sales each year in research and development to produce improved varieties. It’s important for the sustainability of the vegetable sector that these companies receive compensation for their work so they can continue their innovative efforts for the benefit of farmers, retailers and consumers. This verdict is also important because it ensures level playing field for plant raisers and growers, preventing unfair competition between them”.