patented or trademarked orchids.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by Ray

Divisions are asexual reproductions, too, so are covered by the patent, along with clones.

Nobody is going to jump on you about giving them away. It is the selling of those asexual reproductions that is the problem.

in theory you are asexually reproducing by giving away divisions and a royalty is due. However you are right in that it is unlikely someone will come after you for patent infringement. The trick is to give it away as a NOID
I still can't find a list of patented orchids, but this list is interesting because of the ones I have in my garden !

Plant Patent List

[Magnus A]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

in theory you are asexually reproducing by giving away divisions and a royalty is due. However you are right in that it is unlikely someone will come after you for patent infringement. The trick is to give it away as a NOID
I still can't find a list of patented orchids, but this list is interesting because of the ones I have in my garden !

Plant Patent List

You are partially right BUT a patent only give the owner monopoly for commersial use of what the patent cover. If you give away part of a plant you are not commersial and you do not violate the patent.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by Magnus A

You are partially right BUT a patent only give the owner monopoly for commersial use of what the patent cover. If you give away part of a plant you are not commersial and you do not violate the patent.

That distinction is not made in the USA ? There is no mention of commercial use - from the website:

Rights Conveyed by a Plant Patent

Grant of a patent for a plant precludes others from asexually reproducing or selling or using the patented plant. A plant patent is regarded as limited to one plant, or genome. A sport or mutant of a patented plant would not be considered to be of the same genotype, would not be covered by the plant patent to the parent plant, and would, itself, be separately patentable, subject to meeting the requirements of patentability. A plant patent expires 20 years from the filing date of the patent application. As with utility applications, when the plant patent expires, the subject matter of the patent becomes public domain

also - if you give away the plant to a lot of people, the patent owner is prejudiced as he/she doesn't earn any royalties on those plants. Its like me saying I have 100 divisions that I will give to my gardening club, its non-commercial ? The members are then free to give another 100 of their divisions away...and so on ?

[Magnus A]

Does that statement come from a patent attorney homepage or from the goverments patent office?

The consept of a patent is to make the technique known and in return your commersial use is protected.

Maybe it is on this EU and the US differ and why the US allow plant patent

[msaar]

From the US Patent Law:
"35 U.S.C. 163Grant.
In the case of a plant patent, the grant shall include
the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing
the plant, and from using, offering for sale, or selling
the plant so reproduced, or any of its parts, throughout
the United States, or from importing the plant so
reproduced, or any parts thereof, into the United
States. (Amended Dec. 8, 1994, Public Law 103-465, sec."

[orchidsarefun]

the website is a US Gov website;therefore official

Patents Guidance, Tools & Manuals

Other than the NOIDS which are now prevalent, I also have found that the number of unregistered grexes has increased. Its a minimal $ cost to register a cross so I wonder why that is. Unfortunately I haven't yet registered a cross so I don't know the process and exactly what is required by RHS in terms of documentation, lineage etc. I find this subject fascinating, the more so because its so difficult to obtain info. I will contact RHS and ask them for details.

[PaphMadMan]

Plant patents in the US go back to 1930, and patented plants are very common in roses, perennials, fruits, and many other types of plants. I'm a bit amused that so many from the US find patented orchids such a novel and confusing idea. Like any other intellectual property if you copy and distribute it without the permission of the owner it is theft, plain and simple.

No one is going to go after you for giving away a couple divisions, but if you clone 10,000 plants you should expect some trouble just as if you make 10,000 photocopies of a best-selling novel and sell them, or file-share 10,000 digital copies of a popular recording. It is exactly the same thing. If you develop something new you deserve to profit from it, and a patent or copyright is the means to enforce that.

[pinkham]

That's a great way to explain it.
I actually had never even thought of it until I was told last year. It isn't unreasonable for someone to want to be reimbursed for their work.

[orchids3]

You would be suprised to know how many low life people there are out there who would steal the work of others. Good hybrids are made by intelligent people who invest their talents and resources often over a life time, only to find that the effort is hijacked and all profit from a lifetime of work stolen by the scum of the trade. They should enjoy at least same protection as a rock star. We hear all about copies of recordings or computer software but the same protection should apply to hybrids.
Most of us just want a collection of the better plants but others want to make a million dollars from their purchase or some undeserved credit. It leads to the making of triploids that do not reproduce or the marketing of unmarked plants. It is all a terrible detriment to those of us who love growing and studying the plants we buy.
Some think that making a deserved profit is wrong. It is the same kind of rift that says corporations should not make a profit. All part of the struggle that is going on - but that is close enough to politics for this forum.

[camille1585]

I agree that hybridizers should be able to protect their creations, but patents are not the way to go! It shouldn't be legal for plants. Plant Breeders Rights offer the same protection, BUT allow the plant to be used in other breeding programs.

In any case, even with protection, it doesn't stop ill intentioned people. A veggie breeding company I worked at has hybrid tomato seed production outsourced to china. Basically they provide the pure parental lines, the chinese grow them out, make the cross and produce the F1 seed. The trouble is that the chinese are taking cuttings from the parent plants, to be able to illegally produce and sell the hybrid themselves. The trouble is that even with the protection, taking legal action is apparently very very difficult....