Perhaps you read the blog post about copyrighting a plant variety (via a patent) and thought, “If only that were enough.” Some kinds of plants cannot be propagated by cloning on a commercial scale. And there are some sets of traits that can be easily transferred by seed propagation, or transferred to other lines with …
What Should I Do When a US Plant Patent Isn’t Enough? Read More »
PLANT PATENTS ARE SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR TO COPYRIGHTS You’re a plant breeder. You have a great cultivar that you want to propagate and sell. You would really like to put it out there so that all your hard work could pay off and so that everyone could enjoy how great your cultivar is. Of course, you …
Don’t You Wish You Could Copyright a Plant Variety? Read More »
As a plant breeder, you know that not every cultivar you select will have equal commercial potential. And yet it would be nice to have a plan for appropriate intellectual-property protection of all, or at least most, of your cultivars with any commercially potential. So let’s start by classifying the cultivars you may develop into …
“So how can I know if the cultivar I bred is really new and distinct enough for patenting, because I heard it’s required for a cultivar to be ‘new and distinct’ in order to be patentable?” Here’s my answer: It is new and distinct by definition. What does that mean? Let me answer with an …
How Can I Know If My Cultivar Is New and Distinct for Patenting Purposes? Read More »
