Zespri took a grower to court after he smuggled in a variety of the company's kiwifruit into China, potentially risking billions of dollars of future exports. Photo / Getty ImagesZespri took a grower to court after he smuggled in a variety of the company's kiwifruit into China, potentially risking billions of dollars of future exports. Kiwifruit grower Haoyu Gao, his wife Xia Xue and their company Smiling Face, servicing a number of orchards around Bay of Plenty's Ōpōtiki, grew G3 kiwifruit under licence from Zespri. Justice Katz further found Gao and Smiling Face purported to license Shu to exploit the kiwifruit varieties throughout China. The judge awarded damages of $14,984,100 against Gao and Smiling Face for the acts which infringed Zespri's statutory rights.

Source: New Zealand Herald September 07, 2021 23:02 UTC