Summerland Varieties Corp., which holds the global master license for Staccato cherries, says that the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington dismissed claims and counterclaims between Agriculture and Agri-Food, Summerland Varieties Corp., Van Well Nursery and Gordon and Sally Goodwin.
This summer, Van Well Nursery and the Goodwins reached a settlement with AAFC, SVC says, which includes a monetary payment and assignment of the “Glory” patent to AAFC and destruction of all “Glory” trees in Van Well Nursery and the Goodwins’ possession.
Summerland Varieties Corp. says claims and counterclaims between Agriculture and Agri-Food and Monson Fruit Company are unresolved.
In March, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington reversed a previous order invalidating a plant patent related to Staccato cherries. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a department of the Canadian government, owns the intellectual property rights to Staccato cherry. The court had ruled that the Glory cherry is actually the Staccato cherry, and as a result, AAFC is now free to pursue its claim that the propagation, distribution and sale of Glory trees or cherries infringes the Staccato patent.
AAFC has had long-running legal action with three U.S.-based defendants: Gordon Goodwin, a Washington State orchardist who claimed to have discovered the Glory tree and patented it as his own; Van Well Nursery Inc., a U.S. nursery that transferred a Staccato cherry tree to Goodwin and then grew and sold Glory trees; and Monson Fruit Co., a U.S. grower, packer, and seller of Glory cherries.
