T&G wins another PVR legal battle in China resulting in destruction of illegal trees
T&G Global Limited has another legal victory in the protection of intellectual property, after the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China defended the company's plant variety rights (PVR) over the premium Scilate apple variety.
In late December 2025, the court issued a final judgment in favor of T&G in a dispute with a Chinese defendant regarding their infringement of the company's PVR. This judgment upholds the earlier ruling by the Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court in April 2025.
“We welcome this ruling by the Supreme People’s Court and the commitment it shows under China’s strengthened Seed Law to safeguard plant variety rights and put a stop to illegitimate production and infringement," said T&G Chief Executive Gareth Edgecombe. "With it being the second PVR ruling in T&G’s favor, it establishes a strong judicial precedent for the handling of similar infringement disputes in China.”
The executive explained that over the last 20 years, T&G has invested significantly in research, development, sales, and marketing to develop the Scilate apple variety, sold under the premium ENVY® brand, the third leading apple brand in China.
The court’s judgement, as well as the recent Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties, will benefit plant breeders, growers, customers, and the horticulture sector, Edgecombe continued, providing T&G with further confidence to continue investing in China.
PVR infringement details
The infringement occurred in Shandong Province, China’s main apple-growing and production region. It involved the unauthorized production and propagation of Scilate variety materials, as well as the online and offline sale of harvested fruit from the illegally-propagated materials.
The infringing products were promoted and sold using marks similar to T&G’s ENVY®, with the defendant attempting to take advantage of Scilate’s strong reputation and brand.
Given the scale and prolonged duration of the PVR infringement, the court has ordered the defendant to pay significant damages to T&G and to stop all infringement of the Scilate plant variety rights.
Enforcement steps have now been taken, resulting in the court-supervised destruction of a large number of illegally planted trees in Gansu province.
“We are well set up to continue to pursue enforcement of our intellectual property rights," said Edgecombe. "This is supported by the work the Supreme People’s Court has done to establish a repeatable and credible process of plant variety rights protection and the introduction of the Seed Law and associated regulations."
*All images courtesy of T&G
Related stories
Subscribe to our newsletter
