Legal Definitions - plant patent

A plant patent is a specialized form of intellectual property protection granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It is designed to protect new and distinct varieties of plants that have been either invented or discovered by an individual. A critical requirement for a plant patent is that the plant must be capable of asexual reproduction. This means it can be propagated without using seeds, through methods such as cuttings, grafting, or tissue culture, to create genetically identical copies of the original plant. This ensures that the unique characteristics of the new plant variety are precisely preserved.

Plant patents protect the inventor's rights to their new plant for 20 years from the date the application was filed. Unlike some other types of patents, plant patents do not require ongoing maintenance fees to remain in force. This type of patent does not cover plants found growing wild in nature or those propagated by tubers, such as potatoes.

Here are some examples to illustrate how a plant patent applies:

• Example 1: A Novel Rose Variety

  Imagine a horticulturist spends years cross-pollinating different rose bushes, eventually developing a new rose variety that boasts a unique, vibrant purple color, a stronger fragrance, and exceptional resistance to common rose diseases. To ensure that these desirable traits are consistently passed on, the horticulturist propagates this new rose using cuttings from the original plant. Each new rose bush grown from a cutting is a genetically identical clone of the original discovery.

  This scenario illustrates a plant patent because the horticulturist has invented a new and distinct variety of plant (the unique rose) that possesses novel characteristics, and it is reliably reproduced through asexual means (cuttings).

• Example 2: A Superior Apple Tree

  Consider a fruit breeder who, while inspecting their orchard, discovers a single apple tree producing apples with an unusually crisp texture, a perfectly balanced sweet-tart flavor, and a natural resistance to bruising that is superior to any existing apple variety. To ensure this valuable new variety can be cultivated commercially, the breeder takes scions (cuttings) from this unique tree and grafts them onto rootstock, creating many genetically identical apple trees.

  This example demonstrates a plant patent because it involves the discovery of a new and distinct plant variety (the apple tree with superior fruit), and its unique qualities are maintained and propagated through asexual reproduction (grafting).

• Example 3: A Compact Ornamental Shrub

  A landscape designer cultivates a new variety of an existing evergreen shrub that naturally grows in a very compact, spherical shape, making it ideal for small gardens, container planting, or formal hedges without requiring extensive pruning. To bring this new, desirable form to market, the designer uses tissue culture techniques to produce thousands of genetically identical plants, all exhibiting the same compact growth habit.

  This situation qualifies for a plant patent because it involves the invention of a new and distinct plant variety (the compact shrub) with unique aesthetic and functional characteristics, and it is propagated through asexual reproduction (tissue culture) to ensure genetic consistency.