Mixed Fruit in Strawberry Patent Ruling
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria says university and former professors might both be liable in fight over berry genotypes.
April 28, 2017 at 07:42 AM
4 minute read
The University of California scored a lot of points Thursday in its patent battle with two former professors over strawberry genotypes.
But U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria also ruled that the university must face trial next month on claims it acted in bad faith over its handling of the professors' inventorship rights. “On these facts, and given the language of this contract, from a legal standpoint it would be acceptable for the judgment to 'sock it' to both sides,” Chhabria wrote, “and it may make sense from an equitable standpoint as well.”
Thursday's order in California Berry Cultivars v. The Regents of the University of California settled a lot of issues in a high-stakes case that blew up after professors Douglas Shaw and Kirk Larson retired in 2014 from UC's strawberry breeding program. The professors then formed a commercial venture with independent strawberry farmers called California Berry Cultivars, or CBC, and assigned their intellectual property rights to it.
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