Patenting

Protecting A Rose By Patent

 

With a Plant Patent not only the name of the rose is protected but also the color, smell, shape and in fact even the DNA of the plant. This is in contrast to a “Trademark” that protects only the name.

 

With a Plant Patent the holder may prohibit anyone from selling that rose under any name. A Plant Patent protects the plant as an original “invention”. Trademarking is really just about advertising and protects only a name. The Plant Patent lasts for a maximum of thirty years.

 

Plant Patents may be obtained for the Benelux (The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) but it is expensive. From there a breeder would have to obtain Patent Protection for every European Country and also separately for other continents. This could cost as much as 10,000 Euros. These costs are why breeders of newer roses receive royalties on their creations. They “license” growers to propagate and sell their roses and in turn the growers agree to pay a royalty. The royalty can range from 15 cents to one euro per plant. In principal that royalty is paid for every rose propagated whether it succeeds for not.