North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>]

I haven't been paying close attention, so forgive me if this has been 
answered before, but in answer to this:

> Some of these are
> patented cultivars. Is
> it legal to graft our own as an educational activity if
> they are donated rather
> than purchased? 

I'm not aware of any exemption for education. I think the patent-holder 
licenses a few nurseries to propagate the trees, and no one without a license 
can legally graft those cultivars, whether the material had been bought or 
donated. This would be as illegal as donations of pirated software. Let's 
support plant breeding projects by not violating their patents.

I wonder if a nursery that IS licensed to graft these cultivars would be 
willing to sell you some scionwood, and pass the proper royalty along to the 
breeder. Then your class could be extra educational, as your students would 
learn both about grafting, and about how to support the apple breeding 
projects that produce new varieties worth grafting.

Melissa