U.S. Patent No. PP29,976 P3 (‘976) issued on December 11, 2018, for “Phlox Plant Named ‘Verpri’.” It was issued to inventor/applicant Janus Verschoor of Haarlem, Netherlands. The assignee is A. Verschoor Horticulture Import-Export B.V., of Haarlem, Netherlands, a perennial wholesale company. 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 Phlox paniculata, and the varietal denomination is ‘Verpri’ (MPEP 1601).
Figure 1 below illustrates the plant ‘Verpri’.
For plant patents, the utility requirement under 35 U.S.C. §101 is replaced with distinctiveness, and the ‘976 patent’s distinctiveness over the prior art as described in the specification is shown as:
- ‘Verpri’ exhibits a very dwarf and compact plant habit.
- ‘Verpri’ exhibits a floriflerous blooming habit with an abundance of flowers.
- ‘Verpri’ exhibits a re-blooming habit.
- ‘Verpri’ exhibits flowers that are red-purple in color.
- ‘Verpri’ exhibits large leaves that are elliptic to narrow elliptic in shape.
All plant patents have a 20 year term, and the ‘976 patent expires on June 5, 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.