The U.S. Patent and Trademark office recently signaled the approval of utility patents for Jacklin Seed’s creeping bentgrasses, Alpha and T-1. A utility patent is unlike a plant-variety protection (PVP) certificate in that every part of the plant is owned by the inventor. The 1985 legal decision known as Ex Parte Hibberd declared that utility patents, available to inventors since 1790, could be applied to plants. There is no exemption for farmers or plant breeders to use materials protected by a utility patent.
“Competitors cannot use pollen or seed of T-1 or Alpha in their breeding of new varieties, or it is a direct violation of the patent,” says Doug Brede, developer of both varieties. PVPs protect varieties from unauthorized seed production but do little to prevent breeders from using part of a variety in their future creations.
T-1 and Alpha were introduced to the marketplace four years ago and each year have quickly sold out. “Every year we boost acreage and every year we sell out,” says Chris Claypool, general manager for Jacklin Seed.
In other plant protection news, Jacklin’s No. 1 Kentucky bluegrass variety, Nu Destiny, has been approved for a PVP. Nu Destiny is resistant to summer patch and other diseases. The PVP office agreed that Nu Destiny was unique and novel and awarded exclusive ownership to Jacklin Seed. The varieties Perfection and Awesome, developed by Brede, also were approved.
