Criminal Court number 5 of Almeria has convicted the manager of a nursery in El Ejido for illegally using three protected tomato varieties without the authorization of the companies that own the patents. An earlier ruling in October last year was partially annulled following an appeal by the convicted party. The Provincial Court of Almería annulled the previous ruling so that the court issued a new sentence that also ruled on the company's civil responsibility in this crime.
According to the new verdict, the accused, as director of a nursery in Las Norias de Daza, possessed patented tomato varieties for commercial purposes in 2013 without a license from the holders of these plants' industrial property rights. At the nursery, police discovered 206 trays containing seedlings of a protected variety, 3 trays with another variety, and 26 trays with a third variety; none of which had the required permits.
The manager was sentenced to two months and two weeks in prison, a penalty replaced by a ten-month fine of 10 euros per day. A second defendant and the company were acquitted of any wrongdoing.
The verdict is not yet final, as it can still be appealed to the Provincial Court of Almería. The judgment underlines that the process suffered significant delays during the investigation phase, for reasons unrelated to the defendants.
Source: diariodealmeria.es