U.S. Patent No. PP27,475 was issued on December 20, 2016, for “Cannabis Plant Named ‘Ecuadorian sativa’.” It is the first plant patent issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a new strain of a cannabis plant.
Botanical details as specified in the specification note that it is taxonomically in the genus Cannabis, and a hybrid between two Cannabis sativa L. subspecies, C. sativa ssp. sativa and C. sativa ssp. indica. For comparative purposes, the specification indicated this new strain has height of 1.5 – 1.9 m (4.92’ – 6.23’), which is higher than the typical range of 0.91 – 1.22 m (3-4’) for C. indica, but below the typical height of 6.09 m (20’) for C. sativa. Also, flowering occurred between 9 – 11 weeks for the Ecuadorian sativa strain, which is between an indica’s 8 – 12 week flowering cycle, and sativa’s 10 – 16 flowering cycle. It was classified for patent searching purposes under PLT/263.1, or “Herbaceous ornamental flowering plant.”
Plant patents are allowed under 35 U.S.C. §161, which allow patents for asexually reproduced new plant varieties, other than tubers and uncultivated plants.[1] Plant patents have a term of 20 years, and are subject to patent term adjustment (PTA) under 35 U.S.C. §154(b), but are not subject to post-issuance maintenance fees.[2]
This particular new cannabis strain is an important aspect of the underlying business model for Cannabis Sativa, Inc., a publicly-traded cannabis company, which conducts research and development of cannabis-related products, and is based in Mesquite, NV, an adult-use cannabis-legal state. The takeaway here should be that companies of all sizes, including startups in the cannabis industry, should take advantage of the USPTO policy allowing patents for cannabis-related inventions and innovations. The issuance of PP27,475 is a watershed moment because federally-issued patents for new cannabis strains can now be obtained.