Nador Cott Protection S.A.S. v Asda Stores Limited & Anor

Nador Cott Protection S.A.S. v Asda Stores Limited & Anor

The Court dismissed Asda’s application for a stay, finding no significant overlap or risk of inconsistent decisions between the infringement issues before the Court and the validity issues before the UK Plant Varieties Office. The interests of justice and commercial certainty for NCP outweighed Asda’s asserted prejudice. Permission was granted to amend paragraph 9C(c) of Asda’s Defence.

Parties
Claimant: Nador Cott Protection S. A. S.; First Defendant: Asda Stores Limited; Second Defendant: International Procurement and Logistics Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 April 2025
Procedural Posture
Plant Breeders’ Right Infringement / Case Management Conference and Stay Application
Outcome
Stay application dismissed; permission to amend Defence granted.
Legal Topics
Infringement, Validity Challenge, Dependent Variety, Stay of Proceedings, Amendment of Pleadings
Intellectual Property Plant Breeders’ Rights Infringement Validity Challenge Dependent Variety Stay of Proceedings Amendment of Pleadings

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 7 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Nador Cott Protection S. A. S.

Claimant

Asda Stores Limited

First Defendant

International Procurement and Logistics Limited

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Plant Breeders’ Right Infringement / Case Management Conference and Stay Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Tang Gold is a dependent variety of Nadorcott under s.7 of the Plant Varieties Act 1997
  2. 2 Whether the claim should be stayed pending determination of Asda’s Nullity Application at the UK Plant Varieties Office
  3. 3 Permission to amend paragraphs 1 and 9C(c) of Asda’s Defence

Ratio Decidendi

The Court dismissed Asda’s application for a stay, finding no significant overlap or risk of inconsistent decisions between the infringement issues before the Court and the validity issues before the UK Plant Varieties Office. The interests of justice and commercial certainty for NCP outweighed Asda’s asserted prejudice. Permission was granted to amend paragraph 9C(c) of Asda’s Defence.

Court Disposition

Stay application dismissed; permission to amend Defence granted.

Orders

  • Asda’s application for a stay is dismissed.
  • Permission granted to Asda to amend paragraph 9C(c) of Defence.