Patents and Plants
Patents aren't just for mechanical inventions or eye-catching designs. Since 1930, people have been able obtain a patent for certain kinds of plants!
And by plant, we don't mean a factory, like a paper processing plant. You can patent an actual plant that does photosynthesis, that kind of plant!
This guide will tell you about the history of plant patents, and show you some beautiful plant patent art.
A Plant Patent is a special legal protection given by the U.S. government to someone who invents or discovers a new kind of plant and can reproduce it asexually (by cuttings, grafting, etc.—NOT by seeds or tubers like potatoes).
Key Points:
Who can get it?
Anyone who invents or finds a new plant variety (except potatoes and wild plants) and can reproduce it asexually.
What does it do?
Gives the patent owner the exclusive right to control how the plant is reproduced, sold, or imported in the U.S. for 20 years.
What’s protected?
Only the specific plant and its asexually reproduced copies—not similar plants grown from seed or found in the wild.
Only asexually reproducing plants can be patented. These include ornamental flowers (the majority of which are roses), and fruit trees (the majority of which are apples). Tubers are excluded, including potatoes, yams and taro root, among others.
The idea of patenting inventions dates back to medieval Italy. But patenting plants? That's a uniquely American invention.
Plant patents were first issued by the US government in 1930. They've gone through some changes over the years.
Chronology
