If you have ever designed or invented something new, then the best way to protect is through a patent which is basically a grant by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to the owner of that discovery to enjoy a monopoly on it for a specified time. This gives the person the right to file a lawsuit against any person or body that uses the patented discovery in any form without the owner’s permission. Of the various types of patents, we would focus on plant patents here.
In any plant nurseries UK or anywhere else, if a new plant has been discovered or a new hybrid invented with successful reproduction of them, it can be patented with conditions like tuberous plants are not patented. Usually, the patent is granted for twenty years. The following guides are some of the deciding factors for patenting –
• The plant should have at least one different composition from all existing plants on comparison with another plant that may or may not be its relative.
• It must be brand new either as a new creation in a nursery or greenhouse or a new discovery.
• For the plant to be considered for the patent, the person discovering or inventing needs to make the application.
• The plant should not be deemed as an obvious invention at the time of application.
• The new plant marketing and offer for sale should not have taken place before the patent application.
• The plant must not be available to the public for over a year prior to the application for patent. This includes sale, plant promotion and plant description in any publication like the botany journal.
• To be eligible for a patent, the plant must have been successfully reproduced via asexual methods by which it can produce its exact replica. This is not happening with sexual reproduction where variances occur. The asexual reproduction methods accepted for plants are bulbs, cuttings from roots, grafts, runners, layering process, corms, etc.
To seek patents, one can use photographs or coloured drawing which can be self-sketched or sketched by an artist as plant patents have both components of design and utility.
