Canada Wins Reconsideration of Nixed Staccato Cherry-Tree Patent

A federal judge will reconsider a 2023 ruling invalidating a Canadian government patent for the Staccato cherry tree because new evidence disproves a Washington state fruit-tree supplier’s arguments.

Judge Stanley A. Bastian said he “committed clear error in granting summary judgment” that US Plant Patent No. 20,551 is void because the initial decision was based on incomplete and misleading evidence, according to an opinion issued Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

Bastian granted the reconsideration requested by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the government department in charge of a breeding program.

The department’s minister, representing ...