Well let me speak as one of the hybridizers who was "ripped off": I'm not in the least offended! In contrast, what Chick Charms is doing is giving people a collection of plants where some of the less good ones have been weeded out so that you get a plant that many others consider a good one, separating it from the ones that aren't. These won't be an insipid or dirty green with purple tips. The use of the Trademark on these is a rather consistent industry practice, much like Proven Winners have been used for a bevvy of other perennials. Moreover, it gets people INTERESTED IN SEMPS AGAIN! Isn't that the bottom line??
The original names, if there are ones, are printed on the back of the label and NGA also maintains a list of these. I think it is MUCH more immoral for those who market things under no name or a wrong name. Right now there is NO registrar for semps because the registration authority was granted to the Sempervivum Society and it is no longer. Those of us who hybridize do check the lists maintained by the Germans to make sure we don't name anything the same.
I have been breeding plants for 52 years. I had a number of plants that were stolen from me, and introduced by an unscrupulous individual as his own. It took 30 years to clear this up, because he had registered (and lied) about their origin and pedigrees. So registration per se really does not protect the hybridizer. And let's face it, we do it for the love of the plant, not a great financial reward, even though the individual that stole mine did get a hefty check.
So, there are much bigger battles to fight, and if Chick Charms give us a bunch of nice semps, where the uglies have been weeded out, more power to them!
Kevin
