8.9.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 303/9

(Case C-242/14)

2014/C 303/12

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Saatgut-Treuhandverwaltungs GmbH

Defendants: Firma Gerhard und Jürgen Vogel GbR, Jürgen Vogel, Gerhard Vogel

Questions referred

—Is a farmer who has planted propagating material obtained from a protected plant variety without having concluded a contract for so doing with the plant variety right holder required to pay reasonable compensation, as provided for in Article 94(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 (1) of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights, and — if he has acted intentionally or negligently — to compensate the holder for any further damage resulting from the infringement of the plant variety right in accordance with Article 94(2) of that regulation, where he has not yet fulfilled his obligation under Article 14(3), fourth indent, of that regulation, in conjunction with Articles 5 and 6 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1768/95 (2) of 24 July 1995 implementing rules on the agricultural exemption provided for in Article 14(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2100/94, to pay an equitable remuneration (planting fee) at the time when he actually made use of the product of the harvest for propagating purposes in the field?

—If the first question is to be answered to the effect that the farmer can still fulfil his obligation to pay an equitable planting fee even after he has actually made use of the product of the harvest for propagating purposes in the field, are the aforementioned provisions to be interpreted as fixing a period within which a farmer who has planted propagating material obtained from a protected plant variety must fulfil his obligation to pay an equitable planting fee in order for the planting to be capable of being regarded as ‘authorised’ for the purposes of Article 94(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 in conjunction with Article 14 of that regulation?

(1) OJ 1994 L 227, p. 1.

(2) OJ 1995 L 173, p. 14.