As the growing season gets underway in Italy, Bloom Fresh™ is celebrating the success of its enforcement programme over the last year, securing a series of landmark victories that protect its plant variety rights and reinforce the integrity of its licensed varieties across the country.

Over the last year, Bloom Fresh has achieved a number of significant results in Italy, including a significant victory against Top Fruit di Angela Colucci, Angela Colucci and La Fitta di Angela Colucci . In a first-instance decision in this long-running case*, the Court of Bari held that BLOOM FRESH’s plant variety rights had been infringed, awarded damages and the return of unlawfully obtained net profits – which the company estimates, across the infringement period to be well over €750,000 – and ordered the destruction of all unauthorised plants. The Court further ordered that its decision be published in the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera on 29 September 2025 rendering the decision public.

Bloom Fresh also had three separate successful victories against growers of SHEEGENE 9 (marketed under the trade mark MELANIE™) in Bari, SHEEGENE 20 (marketed under the trade mark ALLISON™) in the Municipality of Conversano (Bari), and SHEEGENE 2 (marketed under the trade mark TIMPSON™) in the Municipality of Conversano (Bari), resulting in the removal of vines, provision of undertakings restraining future infringing conduct, disclosure of the source of infringement materials and payment of compensation.

© BLOOM FRESH
Allison™ and Timpson™ grape varieties.

Beyond the court, the company has also stepped-up enforcement at the border, having recently filed an EU-wide Application for Action with Customs, formally notifying the customs authorities of each EU Member State of its plant variety rights and enabling them to detain, and where appropriate seize, unauthorised fruit imported into the EU from illegal growers, including through Italian ports.

Bloom Fresh’s enforcement successes reflect its investment in protecting its intellectual property rights and property varieties, maintaining zero tolerance towards infringement.

By pursuing infringers through the courts and equipping Customs authorities to intercept unauthorised fruit before it enters the market, the company continues to safeguard its varieties and protecting the investment of its licensees, who rely on a level playing field to compete fairly.

“This has been a landmark year for our enforcement programme in Italy. Protecting our plant variety rights isn’t just about defending Bloom Fresh – it’s about protecting every licensee who has invested in growing our varieties the right way. The results show that we will pursue infringement wherever it occurs, in the courts and at the ports, to preserve the integrity of our varieties and the trust of our licensees,” said Josep Estriate, Chief Executive Officer of Bloom Fresh.

* This matter is ongoing: the first-instance decision has been appealed by the defendants and the appeal is pending before the Court of Appeal of Bari.

Contact:
Fiachra Moloney
Bloom Fresh
[email protected]
www.bloomfreshglobal.com