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China recently discovered blueberries.
It all began with Driscoll’s.
The story was a happy one until it wasn’t.
China’s Blueberries
Fifteen years ago, a group of Driscoll’s executives went to China. Searching for the right farmland, they wanted to develop a fruit trend for a berry no one knew. By 2025, China had doubled U.S. production. Winding up with a blueberry glut, they had countless blueberries.
There were so many blueberries that a once-exotic fruit could be afforded by the masses:
Driscoll’s began with 150 growers and indoor nurseries to guarantee quality. The rest is blueberry history. Soon, people were enjoying blueberry ice cream and sweet and sour blueberry tea. Gobbling berries, people believed they had a healthy treat.
The problems began when blueberries popped up on unlicensed farms. Swiping plants, farmers grew Driscoll knockoffs. And Driscoll’s was not alone. Others also complained that their blueberries’ genetics were illegally surfacing.
Fast-forwarding, we can report that, after employing undercover investigators, the firms that originally planted Chinese blueberries went to the Chinese courts and won compensation.
Our Bottom Line: Intellectual Property
Protected by a trademark, Apple owns its logo, the shape of a bottle belongs to Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s has its Golden Arches. Similarly, copyrights assure authors that they control the books they write while patents guarantee inventors’ ownership. As for Driscoll’s, there is a blueberry plant with patent # PP36754 called “DrisBlueThirtyOne that is large, firm, and flavorful. Another patented variety was just called “Norman.”
In a market economy, we need to know what we legally own. Only when property belongs to us through trademarks, patents, and copyrights can we buy and sell it. And, only then do we truly have the incentive to invent, innovate, and profit.
However, intellectual property rights can be tricky when dealing with China.
My sources and more: Thanks to WSJ for inspiring today’s post (and our featured image). From there, I checked for the names of blueberry patents. As always, when we focus on ownership, I suggest a wonderful book called Mine.
