Those affected by Nadorcott join forces and prepare their offensive

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AVA-ASAJA has promoted the creation of an association of those affected by the criminal and civil actions taken by the Club de Variedades Vegetales Protegidas (CVVP) against numerous producers of the Nadorcott citrus fruit. Virtually all those attending the meeting held this afternoon at AVA-ASAJA's headquarters opted to register with the new entity, which, as agreed, will be established shortly under the name ASOVAV (Association of Plant Variety Operators). Its corporate purpose will not only be to protect this important group but also to promote and defend the rights of farmers against breeders and exclusive licensees of other equally protected varieties. After verifying the scope of the "harassment" campaign against "legal" producers of this mandarin, ASOVAV's lawyers have announced a "legal offensive" on several possible fronts against the CVVP, as well as a series of actions aimed at raising awareness about the rights of operators who work with this mandarin.

The legal situation created, as AVA-ASAJA has graphic design services reiterated and the three attending lawyers—Rafael Grau, Fermín Rabal, and Gabriel Ruiz—have explained, is clear: the CVVP can only fully exercise its rights over this variety for trees planted or grafted after February 15, 2006. It was on that date that the Community registration of this citrus fruit was definitively confirmed. Therefore, according to current regulations and as reiterated by successive court rulings, the current managers of this mandarin cannot charge any crime against those who planted or grafted it before that date—who are the majority—and would only be entitled to claim "reasonable compensation." Given the uncertainty generated by the lack of rulings in this regard, the new association aims to become a valid collective interlocutor with the CVVP for negotiating these types of issues.





From left to right, Fermín Rabal (lawyer), Gabriel Ruiz (lawyer), Cristóbal Aguado (president of AVA-ASAJA), Juan Salvador Torres (general secretary of AVA-ASAJA) and Rafael Grau (lawyer).



ASOVAV will also contact large-scale retail employers, some of their main brands, clothing stores, and even the managers of the main national and international wholesale markets to inform them of their rights regarding this mandarin. In this regard, it will warn them that the CVVP has no rights to claim over fruit from trees planted/grafted between February 1996 (when Community registration was requested) and February 2006 (when it was finally confirmed), which would allow any store to market it without having to comply with the conditions imposed by the manager of this mandarin. It will be made clear to them that the sole responsibility for the fruit lies with the producer, and therefore the association will urge its members to provide such operators with all identifying information about the variety (producer, plot, kilos, etc.).

In parallel, ASOVAV's legal services will consider filing a complaint with the National Competition Commission (CNC), emphasizing the restrictions on market freedom imposed by the CVVP on such operators. In addition, the association is also analyzing the possibility of taking the case to both the Community Office for Protected Plant Varieties, which is dependent on the EU, and its counterpart in Spain (dependent on the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, MARM), both of which could prove alleged fraudulent use of the plant protection title. As a third instance, the new entity already has enough final rulings to take the CVVP to court for repeated false complaints.