Agritech

All industries

The agritech sector is evolving and expanding across the Italian and European markets. LGV Avvocati is active in this industry along several fronts. On one hand, the firm assists clients in the assessment and registration of new plant varieties and, where necessary, in litigation and pre-litigation matters relating to plant variety rights. On the other hand, the firm supports clients specialising in plant genomics, bioinformatics and molecular technologies applied to agriculture, advising them on negotiation strategy and contract drafting. The firm has also assisted distributors active in the floriculture and nursery sector in defending against claims brought by holders of plant variety rights. LGV Avvocati has handled extensive and complex litigation concerning the protection of know-how relating to biotechnologies applied to agriculture. This is a field in which many forms of protection can overlap and interact, making strategic advice at an early stage essential — indeed, ideally from the very moment a company is set up to operate in a given segment. This is all the more important given that every segment of the agritech world is also affected by a distinct regulatory framework, as well as being eligible for significant public funding for innovation-related investment.

Significant experience

• LGV assists a leading Italian biotechnology company active in the field of biological and microbiological solutions. The company focuses on the research, development, production and marketing of microorganism-based formulations intended mainly for sustainable agriculture, crop nutrition and protection, and also for the bioenergy sector. The firm has handled the defence, in court, of the company’s strain collections (protected both as know-how and as databases) and of commercial know-how misappropriated by former employees, as well as a claim asserting ownership of an important patent filed by the counterparty.
• The firm has conducted complex negotiations and drafted the resulting contractual documentation on behalf of a company — a university spin-off — active in plant genomics, in connection with its cooperation with other entities to develop new rice varieties. In this context, LGV also assists the company in protecting its assets and structuring its business.