Kiwifruit company Zespri continues to crack down on illegal plantings of its SunGold variety in China with three people being sentenced to nearly four years in jail for their involvement in the trade of the fruit.
▲A kiwi orchard with abundant fruits
Chinese growers have been illegally planting SunGold or G3, which Zespri owns the rights to, since 2016 when a grower took clippings to China.
Zespri has since been working with authorities there to crack down on fraudulent plantings and use of counterfeit packaging.
▲Kiwi Pollination
The company said as part of ongoing legal activity to protect the Zespri brand, it recently completed successful prosecutions against three individuals in China for online sales of locally grown fruit with counterfeit Zespri labels to the value of more than NZ$700,000.
The trio were each sentenced to three years and nine months in jail and ordered to pay a fine of 550,000 yuan (NZ$125,000).
The manufacturers and vendors of the counterfeit trademark labels supplied to the convicted trio have also been charged and that case is ongoing.
Zespri spokesperson Tim Clarkson said the sentences send a strong message that the fraudulent use of intellectual property will not be tolerated.
"Our work with local authorities in China reflects Zespri's strategy to take targeted action to keep unauthorised fruit or counterfeit branding out of our key channels, to protect the significant investment that's been made in building a leading global brand and by New Zealand producers in licensed kiwifruit varieties, and demonstrates our commitment to food safety.
"We're very thankful for the strong support of the Shanghai authorities and we will continue our collaborative approach to protecting grower and consumer interests."
▲Training on Pollination Techniques for Kiwi Orchard
Kiwifruit公司Zespri继续打击其SunGold品种在中国的非法种植，三人因参与水果贸易被判处近四年监禁。
自2016年以来，中国种植者一直在非法种植SunGold或G3，Zespri拥有其权利，当时一名种植者将剪报带到了中国。
此后，Zespri一直在与当地当局合作，打击欺诈性种植和使用假冒包装的行为。
该公司表示，作为保护Zespri品牌的持续法律活动的一部分，它最近在中国成功起诉了三名个人，他们在网上销售带有假冒Zespri标签的当地水果，价值超过70万新西兰元。
三人分别被判处三年零九个月监禁，并被处以55万元人民币（12.5万新西兰元）的罚款。
向被定罪的三人提供假冒商标标签的制造商和供应商也被指控，此案仍在审理中。
Zespri发言人Tim Clarkson表示，这些判决发出了一个强烈的信息，即不会容忍欺诈性使用知识产权的行为。
“我们与中国地方当局的合作反映了Zespri的战略，即采取有针对性的行动，将未经授权的水果或假冒品牌排除在我们的主要渠道之外，保护新西兰生产商在建立全球领先品牌和特许猕猴桃品种方面所做的重大投资，并表明我们对食品安全的承诺。
“我们非常感谢上海当局的大力支持，我们将继续合作，保护种植者和消费者的利益。”
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