Similar to Plant Variety Rights (PBR), a United States Patent is about intellectual property. It is, however, not specified for only living plant material, but a general patent. Things such as shampoos, machine parts and to-go cups are also supervised by this law.

This derogation compared to PBR has a direct effect on legislation and procedures. The main difference with PBR is that the DUS test is substituted with a plant description, which the applicant must provide. The executive body is the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO), located in Alexandria, Virginia.

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An application for United States Plant Patent (U.S. PP) roughly consists of two parts: the Plant Information Form (PIF) and the technical plant description (USTECH), with a set of photos included. Before actually filing the application, several documents need to be signed by the breeder to finalize the application. The USTECH will be judged by an examiner and if all documents and the USTECH are in order, the patent (in most cases) will be granted.

 

Once granted, there is no annual maintenance fee to be paid. After 20 years your rights terminate and cannot be extended.  

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We are specialized in preparing, filing and accompanying your application for U.S. PP. Since a patent can only be filed from within the USA, we work with several agents in the USA.

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Please, contact us to discuss possibilities and services we could provide for you.