European Court ruling on seed addresses long-running French case
European Union directives on the marketing of vegetable seed are valid, according to a judgement made in the European court of Justice on 12 July. He court ruled that; "The directives do take into account the economic interests of sellers of 'old varieties' in so far as they allow such varieties to be marketed under certain conditions."
The directive on the marketing of vegetable seed makes the marketing of such seed subject to the prior acceptance of varieties of the seed in one or more Member States, the court stated. A variety is, moreover, accepted for inclusion in the official catalogues of the Member States only if it is "distinct, stable, and sufficiently uniform".
News that agreement has at last been reached over the location of the European Patent Court has been widely welcomed. The court will be divided between Paris, London and Munich, with headquarters in Paris, a pharmaceuticals and chemicals specialist division based in London and a mechanical engineering division based in Munich. Importantly, the European Council bowed to the British demand that the court should not be subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, a move welcomed by the CBI.
A story that has not been much in the news in this country, but has wide repercussions for the legal profession worldwide has been the collapse of giant New York law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP. On 30 May the company announced the completion of its demise.
Recognition for the 100 most innovative technology companies in Europe.
On 20 April the UK Justice Secretary Ken Clarke announced that the so-called Brighton Declaration on reforming the European Court of Human Rights had been agreed by all 47 signatories to the Declaration.