Re: woodyplants DIGEST V1 #133

Hi Janis,

Michael Dirr lists it as Cornus florida Cherokee Daybreak TM, (no quotations, its not
the scientific name)  which is what made the alarm bells go off to begin with.  
Scientific names cannot be trademarked, so I knew that Cherokee Daybreak TM 
was not the true name of this plant.  Tony Avent wrote an excellent article on this subject.
I won't rehash what he says, but I strongly recommend the article.
(if the link below  doesn't work go to http:// www.plantdelights.com
and follow the link "articles") 

http://www.plantdelights.com/vendors/plantdel/olctrademark.xtml/acaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Anyway, I've done some digging at the US Patent and Trademark office and have found
that all approved patent applications are now online, and reasonable searchable.
So, the plant in my garden is, hopefully, Cornus florida 'Daybreak' and has been labeled
as such.  I say hopefully, because the trademark designation is given to the company/individual,
not the product. The trademark holder can sell any tree they like under that trademark,
so look for the tag that says C. f. 'Daybreak'

This has the potential to be a soapbox subject, so I am going to quit now!
The tree in question is very pretty, though it is experiencing a spot anthracnose
problem.  Considering that my garden has had 9.2" of rain in the last 2 weeks,
I suppose that's not surprising.

Chiir,

Lisa
 

> 
> I must say I do often see the names of trademarked plants labeled without the
> single quotes around the cultivar name.  Perhaps our patent laws allow the
> use of the TM mark without the quotation marks. If there is anyone on the
> list who has trademarked a plant, I would be interested in hearing if this is
> the case.
> 
> Nonetheless, Michael Dirr lists this plant in his manual as Cornus florida
> 'Cherokee Daybreak' and I'm willing to accept him, and not the U.S. Patent
> office as the authority.  ;>) --Janis
> 
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> End of woodyplants DIGEST V1 #133
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-- 
Lisa Flaum	
Waterloo, SW Illinios, USA
Min -10F Max 105F (-24C to 40C)
Wet winter, dry summer punctuated by gully washers,
high humidity, unreliable snow cover, clay soil
Member NARGS, IBS, SRGC, AGS, AHS, RHS, APS

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