WSU has filed a lawsuit ordering Phytelligence to cease growing its patented apple tree, despite retaining equity in the spinout.
Washington State University (WSU) is in a legal dispute with one of its spinouts, US-based agritech developer Phytelligence, over an alleged breach of licence, GeekWire reported on Tuesday.
The dispute relates to Phytelligence’s propagation licence for the WA 38 breed apple tree, branded Cosmic Crisp, which was first discovered by former WSU researcher Bruce Barritt in 1997.
WSU’s lawsuit alleges Phytelligence sold 135,000 Cosmic Crisp apple trees to local fruit grower Evans Fruit Company without first expanding its cultivation licence to…
