Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/751050
26 DECEMBER 2016 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com that everybody has understood why these moves were made," Brandt said. Several growers contacted in late October by Good Fruit Grower expressed surprise about the Italian licenses but did not object to them. "This is news to me," said Tom Riggan, CEO of Chelan Fresh. Riggan, a member of a marketing advisory committee for WA 38, who recalled vague discussions about global commercialization a year ago but no timelines or specific countries. However, he supported Brandt's decision to take action on his own due to time constraints, he said. Brandt's management company also has represented Chelan Fresh with other varieties, Riggan said. Peter Verbrugge, president of Sage Marketing in Yakima, heard about the Italian licenses in October and first thought it was just a rumor. "It was my understand- ing … that we were not going to license anybody outside of Washington," he said. Verbrugge sits on a different WA 38 advisory commit- tee created by the university that recommended giving Washington growers at least 10 years of exclusive rights and sending buds overseas for quarantine purposes. He called the lack of communication "a little frustrating." The Washington Apple Commission, charged with collectively promoting Washington apples internation- ally, also learned of the Italian licenses in late October. "Today it's a PR issue for WAC," said Todd Fryhover, president of the commission, in an email. "We have been talking up Cosmic Crisp as Washington's proprietary variety across all export markets. Now we've learned it's not true, and the Italians have the ability to sell into spe- cific markets. A big deal for us. We look foolish." Global complexities Communication aside, Brandt and university officials are making a practical argument about why they've pur- sued international agreements. There are two issues at play — international quaran- tines and grower licensing — and both factor into the protection of intellectual property. WA 38 is a managed release rather than an open release. Growers in North America but outside of Washington must wait at least 10 years before growing the variety due to its U.S. patent and trademark. Washington growers are scheduled to plant the first commercial blocks in 2017, while growers in Pennsylvania, New York or other apple-producing states will have to wait until 2027 at least. However, preserving the variety overseas is a different ballgame due to the complexities of global intellectual property agreements. "There's no such thing as a worldwide patent and worldwide trademark," said Albert Tsui, a patent attorney for the university, at a field day in Quincy, Washington. Instead, the university must seek plant breeders' rights under international treaties, namely UPOV, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, based in Geneva, Switzerland. In UPOV signatory countries, breeders have six years from the first commercial sale offering of their new variety to apply for plant breeder's rights. In the case of Cosmic Crisp, that six-year clock started in June 2014, when the university held a drawing among Washington growers to decide who would get the first limited supply of start-up wood for 2017 plantings. To start that plant breeders' rights process, though, those other countries must have plant material to quar- antine and keep in their repositories while authorities determine if the variety is truly distinct and stable. In most UPOV territories, Brandt has no legal obli- gation to go further, such as licensing a commercial grower, said Steve Hutton, the sole U.S. board member of CIOPORA, an international ornamental and fruit plant breeder advisory group based in Berlin. "As long as you're within that six-year period then you have complete control of that variety," said Hutton, CEO of Star Roses & Plants, a Pennsylvania ornamental nurs- ery. "Then it becomes a business decision, not a legal decision, what you do with it." However, as a practical matter, most breeders do offer licenses to international growers to secure the help of a 1611 W Ahtanum Union Gap WA 98903 Paul Clark Phone: (509) 457-9196 Ext 101 3766 Iroquois Wenatchee WA 98801 John Vickery Phone:(509) 662-2753 Ext 201 A new standard in Spotted Wing Drosophila detection • Early detection in low population density • Superior attraction in wide range of crops and locations • Extended field life • Scentry SWD Lure performed better than competing lure systems in recent field trials • Versatile, can be used with either wet or dry trap for equal performance SWD LURE & TRAP SOLUTION Contact your local distributor or call 1-800-735-5323 Visit our website, www.scentry.com Relative attractiveness of three commercial lures to Spotted Wing Drosophila over a four week period using a non-attractive drowning solution (antifreeze). Kern County, 2015.