Watley Seed Company - Consent Judgment of $616,000

Watley Seed Co. v. Bronco Seed Co., et al., N.D. Tex., No. 10-CV-271-C

Our firm secured consent judgments and settlement agreements for PVP infringement claims totaling $616,000 against 17 Texas defendants engaged in the sale, purchase, or conditioning of proprietary TAM 112 hard red winter wheat seed. The case began against two producers and a seed conditioner, but in the course of discovery it was determined the seed conditioner facilitated a far larger network of unauthorized activity in a local community. We initiated the case by seeking and receiving a TRO that permitted, with the aid of federal marshals, a surprise seizure of critical evidence from the business at the center of the piracy network.

Texas A&M plant variety infringed

"We discovered a surprisingly large amount of the TAM 112 variety was being traded among producers without any royalty being paid, and without good quality control. . . a good portion of the royalty dollars paid when you buy seed legally are sent back to Texas A&M University System's wheat programs for continued research into making new, better varieties of wheat that benefit both wheat producers and consumers in Texas and beyond," Watley says.