Posted February 5, 2014
University of California officials say a lawsuit over the rights to berry research and varieties is on hold as UC-Davis and the California Strawberry Commission negotiate a settlement, according to an article by The Packer available here.
The California Strawberry Commission filed the lawsuit on October 8, 2013 in Alameda County Court. The lawsuit claims that UC-Davis breached its contract with the Commission for strawberry germplasm specifically developed and paid for by the Commission.
In early 2012, two researchers announced their intent to resign and take the germplasm and research “to establish a private company to research and breed strawberries.” The university notified the Commission that “it planned to terminate the breeding and research program and said it will no longer sell new strawberry varieties to the growers.”
The Commission argues that growers have paid $60 million to the university since the 1950s to directly finance strawberry breeding, and in royalties to those plant varieties.
For background on the case, a Courthouse News article is available here.
For more information on intellectual property issues, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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