Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] MN 447

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: list@ginda.us
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] MN 447
  • Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 08:04:13 -0500

Plant patents eventually expire. The patent system is supposed to create a balance between the interests of inventors and the interests of the public - giving enough of a monopoly that inventors are motivated to invent, but eventually releasing inventions into the public domain. I suppose non-propagation agreements don't expire - after all, the point is to prevent propagation prior to filing for the patent. But it seems to me that at some point, if the originator of the material decides not to patent it, non-propagation agreements ought to expire.

Is there a mechanism to release a cultivar other than by patenting it? If this cultivar doesn't have much commercial potential, but is interesting enough that a few people want it, could U of Minn announce that non-propagation agreements are now void and allow individuals to clone it? Does that sort of thing ever happen? (I'm not suggesting that's what U Minn ought to do in this case - perhaps they want to patent it. Just wondering what happens to good-but-limited cultivars. I'm sure it costs money to patent a plant.)

Ginda Fisher

On Sunday, March 9, 2003, at 07:28 AM, John Bunker wrote:

Steve et al,

Perhaps at some point we can get David Bedford of U Minn to join in this
discussion. I did mention to him that it was causing a stir these days.
He's aware of its following and I wouldn't be surprised if they agree to
release it. Enthusiasm is infectious. I wonder if anyone has invented a
name for it.

Regards,

John Bunker
Fedco
Palermo ME

_______________________________________________
nafex mailing list
nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Most questions can be answered here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
File attachments are accepted by this list; please do not send binary files, plain text ONLY!
Message archives are here:
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/nafex
To view your user options go to:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/nafex/XXXX@XXXX (where XXXX@XXXX is
YOUR email address)
NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page