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--- patented fig varieties

Hi,
I was trying to find what varieties are patented but could not find any single source with a good coverage. Is this documented anywhere?
What are the patented varieties? What exactly was patented (names etc)? What are the limitations associated with this?

I can't help you as far as patented varieties, but I doubt there are any considering the lack of commercial production for figs.  Not enough money in it, I guess, and PPs only last 20 years. Considering that LSU seems to have been the last real research/breeding project and that ended decades ago, I would be surprised to see any patented.

In theory you can patent a plant you find that can be demonstrated as novel.

In short, a PP means you can't propagate with intent to sell the plant/fruit without paying a royalty.

Bayernfeige Violetta

Not long ago, in this forum, a member I cannot remember the name , said that this fig was Patent protected !? Do we have to pay any royalties if we grow that variety in our backyards ??

Francisco

Corky's Honey Delight has received a trademark now, but not patented. Good for marketing. I got my tree long before that happened.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lampo
Bayernfeige Violetta

Not long ago, in this forum, a member I cannot remember the name , said that this fig was Patent protected !? Do we have to pay any royalties if we grow that variety in our backyards ??

Francisco


My understanding of the patent law is that you could propagate the plant for yourself, but selling the new plants without permission and paying the royalty would be in violation of the law. Not sure how cuttings would apply in this scenario, but if you are simply giving them away I don't think that would be illegal.

If you bought the plant from somewhere,  whomever propagated and grew the plant will have paid the royalty (usually $0.50 to $3 per plant) and that cost is built into what you pay.

According to an earlier thread;  Janice Seedless is patented.   Was bred by Dave Wilson Nursery.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6221989

You can only patent a plant growing in a cultivated area, not one found growing in the wild.  Jon could patent any of his seedlings that he grew out.  Once patented, any asexual reproduction is prohibited without permission from the patent holder.  Permission is generally a contract specifying royalties but a patent owner does not have to grant any permissions or s/he may grant an exclusive license to a select few.

Ice crystal if my memory serves me well - Look for the (R) near the name - is PP .
PP means you can't spread it "." .
You can only spread it for you as a person - a company/orchard can't spread it without paying the license per new tree .
You can't sell/trade anything from that plant - be it cuttings nor fruits even as a person.

So, it seems that fig patenting is not as widespread as for some other plants. Is it because the figs may grow differently under the different conditions and it is hard to put a static stamp on a plant or the commercial value in the patent-hungry countries is low? 
I think the Aaron's synonym's thread maybe an indicator of the wild west in the fig world. 

Look up "Sierra" and "Sequoia" to find a thread where this was discussed previously.
Here's a link to one of those threads (there are probably others)
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/sierra-and-sequoia-4204605?highlight=sierra

As for your question "is it documented anywhere?"... yes, by definition everything that's patented in the U.S. is documented in the records of the U.S. Patent Office.  You would need to do a patent search (perhaps by paying to have one done, but I don't know what all is involved in searching the records of the U.S. Patent Office).

Mike   central NY state, zone 5a

In the US for a patented plant all asexual reproduction is prohibited.  You can't legally asexually propagate a patented plant you bought to make 3 for yourself.  Any sexual reproduction is allowed.  So you can sell fruits.  I can't speak for any other country.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelTucson
Look up "Sierra" and "Sequoia" to find a thread where this was discussed previously.
Here's a link to one of those threads (there are probably others)
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/sierra-and-sequoia-4204605?highlight=sierra

As for your question "is it documented anywhere?"... yes, by definition everything that's patented in the U.S. is documented in the records of the U.S. Patent Office.  You would need to do a patent search (perhaps by paying to have one done, but I don't know what all is involved in searching the records of the U.S. Patent Office).

Mike   central NY state, zone 5a


Thanks, Mike.
When I asked about the documentation, I meant more about finding a description of what figs are patented, not to read the patents themselves.

It is a bit OT, but while following your link I found a process they used to create the Sequoia figs. The original is here: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP20038.html

This is how to make you own hybrids:

The new fig selection ‘Sequoia’ is the result of a controlled cross, performed in June of 1992. The hybridization site was located in a small planting of collected fig cultivars growing near the town of Clovis in Fresno County, Calif. The cross was made between the commercial cultivar ‘Tena’ as the female (seed) parent and pollen from a proprietary caprifig (unpatented) identified as ‘D3-11’ as the male parent. The ‘Tena’ fruit was covered with a cloth organdy sleeve cage well in advance of fruit receptivity, in order to exclude any insects that might enter the fig fruit and effect unwanted pollination. At the receptive stage, the cage was removed from the developing ‘Tena’ fruit, after which pollen from the ‘D3-11’ was introduced into the interior of the fruit. The sleeve cage was then replaced over the fruit and remained in place until the fruit matured.

Hybrid seed was extracted from the mature dried fruit in fall of 1992. The seed was then planted in small growing containers in a greenhouse in Parlier, Fresno County, Calif. in early spring of 1993. By late spring of 1993, the developing seedlings were transplanted into seedling rows in the field in Parlier. A total of 918 hybrid fig seedlings were planted in 1993, 353 of which were from the ‘Tena’ by ‘D3-11’ cross. From among the seedlings in this population, the seedling identified as ‘Sequoia’ first fruited and was first selected in September of 1998.

The first propagation of the ‘Sequoia’ selection occurred in spring of 2001 in a fig selection block in Parlier. The selection was grafted onto an existing fig tree (Ficus carica) that was 4 years of age at that time. The ‘Sequoia’ produced a few fruit the following year in September of 2002, and produced a normal crop of fruit in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The characteristics of the propagated tree are identical in all aspects of fruit and vegetation to the original seedling. The name ‘Sequoia’ has been given to this new cultivar. "

Yes, Bob is correct for the USA (I don't know about other countries either), you can't propagate even for personal use.

Janice was patented but expired, see http://www.google.com/patents/USPP8254

I forget when the terms (length) switched but used to last 17 years after the patent was approved and is now 20 years after the patent was applied for.  Can read more at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2701.html

I only know of Sequoia which is patented.  There just hasn't been much breeding done since commercial growers have mostly been content with the old standard varieties.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rcantor
In the US all asexual reproduction is prohibited.  You can't buy 1 plant and propagate it to make 3 for yourself.  Any sexual reproduction is allowed.  So you can sell fruits.  I can't speak for any other country.


Guys, could you elaborate on this one? How is it possible to cover all the asexual reproduction under one umbrella? 
Many plants are propagated by runners (ex: strawberries), cuttings (ex: figs, mulberries, crape myrtle), bulbs (ex: many flowers), and others, and the people have been doing the gardening since the down of our civilization.

It seems to me that all those are the asexual propagation. Are they all prohibited in my garden for my own use?
What is basis for this? 

The plant police are coming for you next.

I look at it this way. I'm not a plant wholesaler or retailer. Whatever happens with nature in my back yard happens. Plants grow, and the ones I like multiply. Plain and simple.

Igor, there is plenty of information about this online.  When you buy a plant that is subject to a patent, there is a tag on it informing you of  such and you agree to follow the laws of the U.S.  Plant patents control asexual reproduction other than tubers.  As I understand it, the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 protects inventors for stable sexually produced and tuber produced plants.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/plant/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_Variety_Protection_Act

There are many plants (nearly all figs) that are not subject to patents, so propagate away!

Harvey,
Thanks for the explanation!
I think I misunderstood what Bob said, I thought he referred to ALL the plants and it seems this is applicable to the patented trees only. That changes the game a little.

Right, greenfig. You can asexually propagate anything that is not patented, and do whatever you wish with new plants you create, including selling them. But if something has a current patent, no vegetative reproduction of the original plant is allowed. Fortunately very few figs are patented.

I edited my post to make it more clear.  Sorry, greenfig.

Violetta appears to be another patented variety: http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/PP12828.html

It was invented in Germany; don't know if it's in the U.S.

Quote:
Originally Posted by HarveyC
Violetta appears to be another patented variety: http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/PP12828.html

It was invented in Germany; don't know if it's in the U.S.


So it says he found the fig growing wild and took cuttings from it.  Determined the cuttings grew to have the same characteristics as the parent tree, so he patented it.  He didn't breed it, doesn't sound like he should be able to patent it, to me.  Laws are strange, I guess.


German & EU laws are different from US laws.  I was only talking about the US.

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