RE: Tattoo

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• To: "'hosta-open@mallorn.com'" <hosta-open@mallorn.com>
• Subject: RE: Tattoo
• From: L* N* A*
• Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 12:20:51 -0400

Joe, Chick and any others that care about plant patents,

I have heard from other growers that they will not carry patented plants because they can't propagate them to sell. But, if you propagate them, can you just send a royalty to the patent holder and sell them? That way you don't have to sell the plant as a single plant as you received it. If in 5 years you take the original H. 'Tattoo' you bought and split it into 20 single divisions, couldn't you just send 20 x "$X" to Tony Avent and avoid being prosecuted? Does anyone know what the royalty, $X, is for each plant sold? I can't imagine that Tony would object to receiving checks in the mail. I can see why growers might shy away from this as it is more paperwork and less money in their pocket. I wonder if one could buy a "blanket" royalty where you pay, say $100 to the patent holder and then the grower can naturally propagate as many as they like. Once these plants are sold, the propagation is protected by the patent once again.

Just some rambling thoughts....

Thanks!

Norm Lesch
Manchester, MD

-----Original Message-----
From:   halinar@open.org [h*@open.org]
Sent:   Thursday, September 23, 1999 11:57 AM
To:     hosta-open@mallorn.com
Subject:        Re: Tattoo

Chick:

>Strange as it may seem, there are many growers who honor a patent
>simply because it is the right thing to do.

That is true.  But then a lot of people don't rob banks because it is
the right thing to do.  However, with a hosta or anything else that
may be patented, the person growing/propagating the plant has to know
it is patented.  If you buy a hosta at a local nursery it may not have
a tag that says it is patented.  Also, many plants are patented with a
different name, or even just a number, then what they are sold under,
so it can be difficult to look at granted patents and know a
particular plant is actually patented. Thus, it is easy for someone to
not know a plant is patented.  As a patent holder you have to make
sure that the plants that do get sold by either you or licensed
growers are clearly stated as being patented.  Since most hostas are
not patented, its easy to assume that any hosta in your yard is also
not patented.  My main commerical crop is daylilies and few daylilies
are patented.  However, I do respect patents and just will not grow
any patented daylilies. 

Joe Halinar

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