Sun World International LLC says two Egyptian courts have ruled in the company’s favor of in infringement litigation it filed against unlicensed Egyptian growers for the illegal production and sale of Sun World grapes.
The two economic courts, in Cairo and Tanta, issued injunctions on the merits against two growers, according to a news release:
- Prohibiting the unauthorized propagation of Sun World varieties.
- Prohibiting the unauthorized sale, offer for sale, import or export of Sun World fruit.
- Awarding monetary damages.
- Forcing the uprooting and destruction of all grapevines illegally planted on their farms at the infringers’ expense.
A global breeding and licensing company in business for more than 40 years, Sun World it has more than 200 table grape patents and plant variety rights worldwide, along with proprietary offerings in stone fruits, cherries and mangoes, the release said. Sun World’s varieties are licensed to growers in 22 countries.
The California-based company says it has a long-standing business developing and licensing its proprietary plant varieties to growers worldwide, including Egyptian farmers, who earn a premium for growing Sun World’s superior varieties.
“Sun World will enforce the full extent of its rights against these infringers, seeking to stop illegal production, remove the infringing plantings and collect damages for past infringement,” Michael Stimson, vice president of intellectual property and general counsel at Sun World International, said in the release.
Despite Sun World’s plant variety rights registrations in Egypt, some unauthorized farmers have been found growing Sun World’s varieties, violating both Egyptian plant variety rights and criminal laws and damaging the Egyptian table grape export market for authorized growers, the company said.
“We continually monitor table grape growing regions and table grapes in consumer markets around the globe for potential infringement cases. As a result, through private and court-ordered investigations, we identified Sun World’s proprietary vines on farms owned by unlicensed growers and, after a thorough investigation, pursued this litigation against them,” Stimson said. “Sun World’s business is to deliver the best varieties possible to our licensees. These illegal infringers are reducing the market price for the fruit grown by law-abiding, licensed Egyptian farmers who grow Sun World varieties. So, we work tirelessly worldwide to enforce our intellectual property against every single infringer we find.”
Sun World encourages growers in Egypt who are interested in planting the Sugrathirteen black seedless table grapes variety, marketed under the Midnight Beauty brand, to obtain a license to plant and propagate Sugrathirteen vines and to sell fruit under its authorized Midnight Beauty brand. Unauthorized Egyptian producer-marketers sometimes illegally sell Sugrathirteen variety grapes under the ”Black Magic” brand and are subject to criminal legal actions and civil liability, the release said.
Inquiries regarding licensing Sun World varieties can be directed to Ben Taieb, licensing manager for Egypt, at btaieb@sun-world.com.
