A vertical farm has been set up in Helmond, but the project has now landed in court. According to Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad (€), the German parent company behind supermarket chain Lidl and a group of Dutch patent holders are locked in a dispute over control of the project and the patents involved. On Tuesday, the Enterprise Chamber in Amsterdam will review the conflict, which centers on the joint venture Blue Skies Group BV. The Dutch patent holders have since been dismissed from the company.
In addition to the case at the Enterprise Chamber, the patent holders have also launched proceedings at the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI). They want the NAI to rule on the technical feasibility of their innovations and on the legal implications. The patent holders claim the technology is sound, while their German partners argue otherwise, the newspaper reports.
The project is not entirely under wraps. Earlier this year, the fire brigade was called to the "greenhouse construction company" when a fire broke out (link in Dutch), and a former employee of Glastuinbouw Nederland had already made the switch to the company several years ago.
