U.S. Patent No. PP30,173 P2 (‘173) issued on February 5, 2019, for “Grandiflora Rose Plant Named ‘KORmonali’.” It was issued to inventor Wilhelm-Alexander Kordes of Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop, Germany. The applicant/assignee is W. Kordes’ Söhne Rosenschulen GmbH & Co KG, of Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop, Germany. This patent is a plant patent under 35 U.S.C. §161, which protects new and distinct cultivars of plants. According to the specification, the Latin name is Rosa hybrida, and the varietal denomination is ‘KORmonali’ (MPEP 1601).
Figure 1 below illustrates the plant ‘KORmonali’.
For plant patents, the utility requirement under 35 U.S.C. §101 is replaced with distinctiveness, and the ‘173 patent’s distinctiveness over the prior art as described in the specification:
- Abundantly and substantially continuously forms attractive, light yellow colored blossoms,
- Exhibits a very bushy and upright growth habit,
- Forms vigorous vegetation,
- Forms attractive ornamental glossy, dark green foliage, and
- Exhibits very good disease resistance.
All plant patents have a 20 year term, and the ‘173 patent expires on July 31, 2037 (MPEP 2701).
The Cooperative Patent Classification is A01H (new plants or processes for obtaining them; plant reproduction by tissue culture techniques).
Plant patents are a unique type of patents issued by the USPTO, although only a very small number (about 1%) are actually issued each year. Keep in mind the plants not only must be distinct, but also new, which means they must invented (i.e., man-made or genetically modified), and asexually reproducible (i.e., not through seed propagation). Plant patents represent a facsinating area under U.S. patent law.
Please contact Yonaxis for more information on plant patents, or patents in general, if you have any questions.