Plant Patents

Plant patents are issued for new varieties of asexually reproduced plants. A plant patent may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant. Plant Patents are issued for 20 years. A plant patent always begins with the letter PP, such as PP22,407.

To be patentable, it is also required:

  • "That the plant was invented or discovered and, if discovered, that the discovery was made in a cultivated area.
  • That the plant is not a plant which is excluded by statute, where the part of the plant used for asexual reproduction is not a tuber food part, as with potato or Jerusalem artichoke.
  • That the person or persons filing the application are those who actually invented the claimed plant; i.e., discovered or developed and identified or isolated the plant, and asexually reproduced the plant.
  • That the plant has not been sold or released in the United States of America more than one year prior to the date of the application.
  • That the plant has not been enabled to the public, i.e., by description in a printed publication in this country more than one year before the application for patent with an offer to sale; or by release or sale of the plant more than one year prior to application for patent.
  • That the plant be shown to differ from known, related plants by at least one distinguishing characteristic, which is more than a difference caused by growing conditions or fertility levels, etc.
  • The invention would not have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of invention by applicant."

Plant Patent Information Books

Intellectual Property Law of Plants


Seed Wars: Cases and Materials on Intellectual Property and Plant Genetic Resources


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Sample Plant Patent

Sample Plant Patent