Two Egyptian courts have ruled in favor of Sun World International in an infringement litigation the company filed against unlicensed Egyptian growers for the illegal production and sale of licensed grapes.

The two economic courts, located in Cairo and Tanta, issued injunctions on the merits against two growers prohibiting the unauthorized propagation of Sun World varieties, as well as the unauthorized sale, offer for sale, or trade of Sun World fruit. The growers are to award monetary damages and uproot and destroy all grapevines illegally planted on their farms.

“We 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,” said Michael Stimson, vice president of IP and general counsel at Sun World International.

Despite Sun World’s Plant Variety Rights (PVRs) registrations in Egypt, some unauthorized farmers have been found growing Sun World’s varieties, violating both Egyptian PVR and criminal laws and damaging the Egyptian table grape export market for authorized growers.

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“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,” said Stimson.

Sun World has more than 200 table grape patents and PVRs worldwide, along with proprietary offerings in stone fruits, cherries, and mangos. The firm’s varieties are licensed to growers in 22 countries. The California-based company 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.

"Our 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,” he added.