The prawn industry is being urged to take heed of the terms of a recent Court Order granted in favour of Xyrex Ltd prohibiting Shellfish Treatments Ltd from manufacturing, distributing or selling the prawn treatment ST500.
Interim interdicts have been served on behalf of Xyrex Ltd on the basis that Shellfish Treatments Ltd and company director Ruary McGregor have breached the Intellectual Property rights of Xyrex Ltd in respect of its Prawnfresh and Prawnfresh Plus products.
John Davis, managing director of Xyrex Ltd, said: “A scientific analysis has clearly shown that ST500 is a copy of Prawnfresh Plus, which breached our Intellectual Property rights for the product. We have had no option other than to instruct our lawyers Morisons LLP to obtain and serve these latest interdicts because the integrity of Prawnfresh Plus brand and its high standing and reputation in the marketplace were being put in jeopardy.”
In the event of this order being breached by any party, Xyrex Ltd has said it will take immediate steps to protect its business and seek to recover any loss or damage sustained.
This is the second time an interdict has had to be served on a company in which Ruary McGregor has been involved. The first instance was in November 2010 for the Shrimp Treat product, which was also deemed to be a direct copy of Prawnfresh Plus. This interdict is still in force.
