Summerland Varieties and Monson Fruit settle Staccato cherry patent dispute

Summerland Varieties Corp. and Monson Fruit Company have reached a settlement in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, resolving a six-year legal dispute over Staccato cherry intellectual property. The litigation centered on cherry trees and fruit marketed under the names Glory or Omega, which were found to infringe upon the Staccato patent.

Under the terms of the agreement, Monson Fruit Company will pay substantial past and future royalties on Staccato trees. These funds are designated for reinvestment into Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s tree fruit development program. Additionally, Monson has agreed to restrictions on exporting fruit outside the U.S. through 2023 and is prohibited from propagating new Staccato trees until 2029.

This resolution follows previous settlements involving other defendants, which included the destruction of unauthorized trees and the assignment of the Glory patent to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Sean Beirnes, general manager of Summerland Varieties, stated the outcome reinforces the importance of respecting intellectual property rights for proprietary plant varieties.