Research centre wins cherry case
Photo: Contributed
A cherry variety that a Washington orchardist claimed was a new type has been ruled as identical to one developed by Summerland’s major research centre.
In a recent ruling from the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, it was determined that the so-called “Glory” cherry is actually the “Staccato” cherry—the commercial name of an already established cherry variety developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s program.
In a press release from the Summerland Varieties Corp., which manages intellectual property rights on behalf of fruit breeders and rights owners of cherries, apples and berries, the court ruling was shared as “resolving a critical issue.”
The long-running legal action was between the Canadian program and three U.S.-based defendants: Gordon Goodwin, a Washington State orchardist who claimed to have discovered “Glory” and patented it as his own; Van Well Nursery, Inc., a U.S. nursery that, in 2000, improperly transferred a Staccato cherry tree still under a restricted testing agreement to Mr. Goodwin as a Sonata cherry tree; and Monson Fruit Company, a U.S. grower, packer and seller of “Glory” cherries.
Summerland Varieties shared that in order to showcase that the cherries were one and the same, the research centre used examination techniques and comprehensive testing, along with genome sequencing.
While the Washington parties argued that the DNA evidence “was not credible nor … state of the art,” the court ruled it was, thus determining “Glory” is “Staccato.”
Sean Beirnes, general manager of Summerland Varieties Corp., said they are “extremely gratified that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has now been officially vindicated in its long held and scientifically proven belief that “Glory” is indeed ‘Staccato.'”
He added that he hopes this ruling will “serve as a warning to those who improperly seek to free ride on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s tree fruit development program and demonstrate to Canadian taxpayers and the authorized licensees of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s proprietary fruit varieties that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Summerland Varieties Corp. are committed to protecting the program and their significant investments in it.”
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