Re: Siberian patents ?

Jan,
If you're really interested in plant patents, you may want to study
Carpet Roses(R). They can be seen in garden centers across the country.
They are easily recognized because of the pink pots. I know considerable
effort has gone into advertisement, patent protection and quality
control on this product. I think they have done well with brand
recognition because of the pink pots.

I think that White Flower Farms approach to market development with one
Japanese iris has been interesting. 'Nikko' has no plant patent, but it
isn't registered with the AIS either. It happens to be one of the most
recognizable JI cultivars in American gardens, but since it isn't
registered, few if any iris nurseries list it. Since propagation and
resale of irises is usually done by iris nurseries, WFF has the benefits
of a patent without the expense.

R. Dennis Hager
on Delmarva


Jpwflowers@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Jan Sacks and Marty Schafer at Joe Pye Weed's Garden - Zone 5
> 
> Marty and I have been approached by someone who is interested in our
> patenting siberians for the general nursery trade.   It is a complicated
> question for us.  As gardeners, we hate buying plants which say we can't
> propagate them.  Of course this requirement is directed at people in business
> and not home gardeners, but it always feels like the patent police are going
> to come down and get us for dividing a plant which needs dividing to survive.
>  As hybridizers, we put many hours and valuable field space into our iris
> breeding and the monetary return is minimal in comparison.  We do it for the
> joy, but without some financial support we could not justify the space and
> time since we make our living from our land (growing cut flowers).   Irises
> are introduced at high prices because in a short time they can be propogated
> and sold by others.   On the other hand, patenting is not a sure way to make
> money.  The royalties per plant are very small and patenting is not cheap.
> It can cost close to $2000 per cultivar unless we learn the legal ins and
> outs and do the paperwork on our own - then maybe only $1000.  So we would
> have to be confident that someone will propagate and promote our patented
> iris so that we would make back our investment, no less a profit.  Only a
> small number of cultivars would be patented.  And they would be directed at a
> totally different market than we currently sell our new introductions.  It
> would make new and different siberians available to the general gardener
> through garden centers.  We will see how it goes.
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Get paid for the stuff you know!
> Get answers for the stuff you don’t. And get $10 to spend on the site!
> http://click.egroups.com/1/2200/3/_/496957/_/956837054/
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get 3 months FREE and a chance to WIN a trip to London, England when
you receive, manage and pay your bills online with Paytrust.com!
Stamps, checks and bills in your mailbox are history.  Enroll Today!
http://click.egroups.com/1/3556/3/_/496957/_/956839494/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index