On March 14, 2026, the Egyptian Administrative Court ruled in favor of Sun World International, rejecting a legal challenge against the plant variety protection of its proprietary seedless grape variety Sugrathirteen, marketed under the registered brand Midnight Beauty.
The case arose from an invalidity claim by an unauthorized grower in the African country who sought to invalidate the plant variety protection certificate granted for Sugrathirteen by the Egyptian Patent Office.
The Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit as inadmissible, validating the existing protection and endorsing the conclusions of an independent technical review conducted by a court‑appointed expert committee.
The three-party consulting investigation supported the technical documentation and applicable regulatory framework, concluding that Sugrathirteen fully complies with the statutory requirements of Novelty, Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS), mandated under local intellectual property law.
Gerardo Lugo, Chief Commercial Officer at Sun World International, celebrated the decision, saying it gives the firm great confidence to bring its latest varieties and technologies to the African country.
“This ruling demonstrates the relentless efforts of the Egyptian authorities to respect intellectual property law, which benefits not just the local growers, but the entire industry,” he said.
Consistent with the committee’s findings, the Administrative Court confirmed that the variety was novel at the time of filing in Egypt, with no evidence of prior commercial exploitation within the legally relevant periods. The decision also validates the technical basis of the plant variety protection certificate, including reliance on DUS testing conducted in accordance with standards established by the Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
In light of these determinations, the court concluded that the plant variety protection certificate for Sugrathirteen remains valid, enforceable, and effective.
Sun World emphasized that the judgment also validates the company’s long-standing strategy of protecting its proprietary cultivars in accordance with applicable national laws and the principles of the UPOV conventions.
More broadly, the ruling enhances legal certainty for rights holders and supports continued investment in agricultural innovation and modern plant breeding in Egypt.
*All images courtesy of Sun World.
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