Sun World International has filed four infringement lawsuits in Italy in recent months against unlicensed growers of the company's proprietary grape varieties. In each case, Sun World said Italian courts ruled in the company's favor to prevent unlawful production of Sun World varieties.
"In each of the cases, Sun World relentlessly investigated, tracked, and pursued legal action against the infringing growers, demonstrating the company’s commitment to not only its intellectual property (IP), but also the interests of its licensed growers," the company said in a press release on Wednesday.
Sun World gathered evidence by drone surveillance to support its arguments in court. The company found evidence of unauthorized plantations of Sugrathirtyfive, Sugranineteen, Sugrathirteen and Sugraone, all proprietary varieties of Sun World, by four growers in Apulia and Basilicata.
"One defendant was ordered to allow Sun World to conduct an audit of the defendants’ financial records," Sun World wrote.
Another defendant was banned from entering his fields to prevent harvest of unlicensed grapes.
"In the cases that the infringers refused to settle, courts ordered the defendants to pay Sun World’s court costs, attorney fees and damages," the company continued. "Courts ordered vine removal by the defendants, and settlement agreements with Sun World also required removal of infringing vines."
Michael Stimson, General Counsel and Vice President of Intellectual Property, said Sun World works vigorously to prevent infringement of its intellectual property and conducts continuous monitoring of table grape regions.
“We make significant investments in the development of each of our unique and proprietary varieties, taking more than a decade and significant financial resources to develop a new variety, and we are pleased with the courts’ decisions to uphold our IP,” Stimson said in a press release. “Sun World follows a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against infringement, pursuing each and every case it becomes aware of. So, while each of these infringing plantings were relatively small, the largest no more than 10 hectares, Sun World nonetheless pursued these cases to completion, through removal of the infringing plants."
He said the decisions should send a clear message to growers that Sun World "will find you; we will pursue legal action against you, and we will prevail.”
Sun World, a California-based company, holds more than 200 table grape patents and PVRs worldwide, and also hold patents for stone fruits, cherries and mangos. The company has licensed growers in 22 countries.
