Kernrechtsfrage
Whether a safener can count as an active substance and product under Regulation 1610/96 for SPC purposes.
Extrahierter Entscheid
If a substance used in a plant-protection formulation has its own immediate plant-protective effect by reducing the herbicide's toxic effect on the crop, it is an 'active substance' and therefore a 'product' within Articles 1(1), 1(3), 1(8) and 3(1) of Regulation 1610/96.
Extrahierte Begründung
The decisive criterion is an objective scientific assessment of whether the substance has its own toxic, phytotoxic, or plant-protective effect. The administrative classification by the authorization authority as active substance or co-formulant is not determinative for SPC grant proceedings.