buckets
Well-Known Member
I've been so curious about this since I heard that Monsanto and other corporations were patenting cannabis strains and that some activists were suggesting we should show the public your strain so you could prove that it existed before Monsanto registered a patent for certain strains under certain names. Say 'white widow' as an example. What you're about to read applies to the US only. I haven't found a Canadian equivalent yet. If we were to become a DG, then we would grow certain strains. If we didn't want to be sued by the evil corps, would be in our personal interests to register our own hybrids under a plant patent? That's my question of the day. Comments?
PATENTS
What is a Plant Patent?
A Plant Patent is a right granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which allows the patent owner to exclude others from propagating the patented variety, or from selling or using it, or any of its parts throughout the United States.
The patent owner may also prohibit others from importing the plant or any of its parts into the United States. Almost 1,000 plant patents have been granted by USPTO during 2009.
Who is entitled to file and own a Plant Patent?
The named individual who bred or discovered the new variety is known as the Inventor and all patent applications require the inventor to sign a Declaration as such. It is permitted for there to be more than one named inventor. Unless the inventor(s) formally assigns their patent rights to another person or entity, the patent rights always belong to the inventor, or the inventor’s successors, and are regarded as personal property.
What other forms of plant protection are available?
New plants or series of plants may be eligible for Utility Patent protection either instead of, or in addition to a Plant Patent. Utility Patents are generally more appropriate for protecting the results of advanced technical plant breeding where novel common characteristics have been developed and which form an entirely new class of material.
Outside the US, new plant varieties are protected by Plant Breeders Rights (see below).
Trademarks (also see below) are not intended to be used for prohibiting the propagation of a plant variety.
What steps are involved in patenting a plant?
A plant patent is obtained by filing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a comprehensive specification for the variety which must include an explanation of its origin, a thorough botanical description and a set of photographs which present the variety’s essential characteristics. The filing papers will include a declaration by the inventor that the variety is new and distinct and that it was either bred, or discovered in a cultivated state (as opposed to having been found in the wild.)
After the filing has been accepted at USPTO, the case will be assigned to a patent examiner who will usually get to the application in 9 – 15 months time, depending on case load. The examiner may have supplementary questions and may request additional information.
Once the examiner is satisfied with the contents of the application, a Notice of Allowance is mailed together with a requirement to pay the issue fee. The patent itself, with its Patent Number is mailed by USPTO approximately three months after payment of the issue fee.
PATENTS
What is a Plant Patent?
A Plant Patent is a right granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which allows the patent owner to exclude others from propagating the patented variety, or from selling or using it, or any of its parts throughout the United States.
The patent owner may also prohibit others from importing the plant or any of its parts into the United States. Almost 1,000 plant patents have been granted by USPTO during 2009.
Who is entitled to file and own a Plant Patent?
The named individual who bred or discovered the new variety is known as the Inventor and all patent applications require the inventor to sign a Declaration as such. It is permitted for there to be more than one named inventor. Unless the inventor(s) formally assigns their patent rights to another person or entity, the patent rights always belong to the inventor, or the inventor’s successors, and are regarded as personal property.
What other forms of plant protection are available?
New plants or series of plants may be eligible for Utility Patent protection either instead of, or in addition to a Plant Patent. Utility Patents are generally more appropriate for protecting the results of advanced technical plant breeding where novel common characteristics have been developed and which form an entirely new class of material.
Outside the US, new plant varieties are protected by Plant Breeders Rights (see below).
Trademarks (also see below) are not intended to be used for prohibiting the propagation of a plant variety.
What steps are involved in patenting a plant?
A plant patent is obtained by filing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a comprehensive specification for the variety which must include an explanation of its origin, a thorough botanical description and a set of photographs which present the variety’s essential characteristics. The filing papers will include a declaration by the inventor that the variety is new and distinct and that it was either bred, or discovered in a cultivated state (as opposed to having been found in the wild.)
After the filing has been accepted at USPTO, the case will be assigned to a patent examiner who will usually get to the application in 9 – 15 months time, depending on case load. The examiner may have supplementary questions and may request additional information.
Once the examiner is satisfied with the contents of the application, a Notice of Allowance is mailed together with a requirement to pay the issue fee. The patent itself, with its Patent Number is mailed by USPTO approximately three months after payment of the issue fee.
