IN VINEIS VERITAS: NO SOUR GRAPES AS EGYPTIAN COURT ORDERS REMOVAL OF ILLEGAL VINES
IN VINEIS VERITAS: NO SOUR GRAPES AS EGYPTIAN COURT ORDERS REMOVAL OF ILLEGAL VINES
By: Hannah Alexandra Bethany Whitmore and Liz Freeman Rosenzweig
The Beni Suef Economic Court in Egypt has recently ordered the removal of nearly five hectares of illegally grown Early Sweet™ grapevines, totaling 9000 vines and associated seedlings. The farm owner did not have a license to grow or commercialize the Early Sweet™ grapes and was found to be infringing the intellectual property (IP) rights held by Grapa Varieties Ltd. The case against the farm owner was won by Grapa, which specializes in breeding and licensing premium table grape varieties under the ARRA™ and Early Sweet™ brands. The particular IP right at issue was a plant breeders’ right (PBR) owned by Grapa.