California strawberry breeding settlement reached
A settlement has been reached in a strawberry breeding dispute between the University of California Regents and California Berry Cultivars.
California Berry Cultivars is a start‐up company formed by strawberry growers and nurseries, and two former faculty members that ran the UC-Davis Public Strawberry Breeding Program.
The settlement concludes a court battle that began in 2016 over ownership of strawberry varieties.
A San Francisco jury unanimously decided May 24 that the former faculty, Douglas Shaw and Kirk Larson, willfully infringed on UC patents and unlawfully used plant material owned by the UC-Davis strawberry program to develop berries for California Berry Cultivars.
Both sides agreed in a Sept. 15 document that strawberry plants bred with unreleased University of California strawberry varieties will be transferred to and are owned by UC-Davis, according to a news release. The plants will be evaluated and, if deemed suitable, released to the public, according to the release.
Both sides agreed that UC owns varieties developed by its strawberry program, and California Berry Cultivars retains its interests in certain varieties it bred. All claims against both sides will be dismissed. Each party is responsible for its own attorney fees and costs, according to the settlement.
For three years from the date of the settlement, all parties will not make any “disparaging public statement” about any parties involved in the settlement, and all statements to the media must be approved by both parties, according to the settlement.
There was no immediate reaction from the California Strawberry Commission.
“We are evaluating the settlement agreement and we will not make a public statement until our review is completed,” said Chris Christian, vice president of the California Strawberry Commission.
