A Summerland-developed cherry variety has won another legal battle in Washington State.
In 2024, the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington determined that a so-called "Glory" cherry being marketed by a Washington State orchardists who claimed to have discovered it and patented as its own, was actually the Staccato cherry — the commercial name of an already established cherry variety developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's program in Summerland.
That decision was recently followed by another win.
On March 12, 2025, the same district court reinstated the Staccato's U.S. patent, reversing an earlier decision.
"As a result, AAFC is now free to pursue its claim that the propagation, distribution and sale of “Glory” trees or cherries infringes the Staccato patent in its long-running legal action," reads a press release issued this week from AAFC.
The long legal battle involves Gordon Goodwin, the American orchardist who laid claim to the "Glory" cherry, Van Well Nursery Inc., who AAFC claims improperly gave a Staccato tree to Goodwin, and Monsoon Fruit Company, an American company which then grew, packed and sold "Glory" cherries.
In the case of the patent, the court admitted a "clear error in granting summary judgement" when they first ruled.
The defendants had attempted to prove they sold Stacatto cherries before the Stacatto patent had been filed.
However, evidence later showed that the sales they presented were actually of Sonata cherries, not Staccato.
“It is undisputed that the defendants excluded the first ten rows of [a spreadsheet] that stated the sales were actually of Sonata, an entirely different cherry, then falsely represented to the court that [the spreadsheet] was an accurate copy of the original spreadsheet”, said the Court.
“It would be manifestly unjust to excuse this behaviour at this stage of the proceedings.”
Summerland Varieties Corp. general manager Sean Beirnes is pleased with the results, which mean the patent can now be properly enforced.
"The global tree fruit industry is built on trust. It is critically important that industry stakeholders respect intellectual property rights associated with protected varieties. SVC will have zero tolerance for those who cheat."
