[CH] "Orange" Red Savina / PVPA
Parkhurst, Scott Contractor (PARKHURS@LEAV-EMH1.ARMY.MIL)
Fri, 27 Aug 1999 09:43:28 -0500
>When it was also discovered to slightly hotter, seeds
>were collected and the [successful] attempt was made
>to see if it would breed true and accumulate enough
>seeds to make a commercial venture (thus the patent).
From what I can tell, it is not a patent, but does afford
legal protection for 18 years. When did the Savina folks
(Garcia?) receive their certificate?
From a page put up by Cornell University, the statement from a
case that went before the supreme court:
" The PVPA extends patent-like protection to novel varieties
of sexually reproduced plants (that is, plants grown from seed)
which parallels the protection afforded asexually reproduced
plant varieties (that is, varieties reproduced by propagation or
grafting) under Chapter 15 of the Patent Act. See 35 U. S. C.
§§161-164.
The developer of a novel variety obtains PVPA coverage by
acquiring a certificate of protection from the Plant Variety
Protection Office. See 7 U. S. C. §§2421, 2422, 2481-2483.
This confers on the owner the exclusive right for 18 years to
"exclude others from selling the variety, or offering it for sale,
or reproducing it, or importing it, or exporting it, or using it in
producing (as distinguished from developing) a hybrid or
different variety therefrom." §2483. "
The full case involved the sale of a protected variety of soybean's
seeds. There appear to be certain exemptions which allow a
farmer to sell *some* saved seeds under certain conditions. A
lower court held for the company, it was reversed by an appeals
court, then the supremes ruled in favor of the company. It boiled
down to the farmers did have a right to sell some seed, but they
exceeded the limitations spelled out in the exception clauses.
Oh, and the supremes, with all their aides and smart folks around
still referred to it as "the maze" that is the PVPA.
Scott... KCK