WAMcCormick said: Are any of the amaryllis types patented?
Following.
I have crossed two that I bought from Walmart. I will plant the seeds, and in a few years I will have what I consider to be genetically unique Amaryllis plants. My concern is that what if there is a genetic duplicate out there that has been registered or patented, and I market the offspring as my own? Even if I created it? Are Amaryllis genes variable enough to be able to prove this?
If I accidentally pollinate a plant with itself in the process, so that it's own genes are simply reorganized, is the offspring still considered that registered/patented plant?
Monsanto sued farmers for selling their patented corn to the point of putting them out of business. Some of the farmers were oblivious. Are there flower growers out there protecting their patents in this way? I'd like to start a small greenhouse when I retire and sell my own products. I doubt it would become big enough to be a financial threat to anyone, but neither were the small farmers selling corn.
When raising holiday cacti, there are essentially two main Thanksgiving cactus genetics out there - pink and white - and I suspect they have names. Many others have been created but the biggest population came from a couple of transports from Brazil, I suspect. I am also crossing them and starting seeds, which I suspect has already been done eons of times. Most people have plants that are clones started from rooting clades from the mother plant. So it should be easy to identify the millions of cloned plants that are likely out there. I consider the ones I cross from different colors and begin from seed to be my own creations. Who is keeping track of the genetics? Is someone? Should I patent my own creations?
If amaryllis plants are not registered or patented in the U.S., what stops a person from renaming pups from a Walmart plant and reselling them? Unless we are competing in a contest, who would care? This is not something I would personally do but I'm lousy at record-keeping and might sell it as a NOID. Would that be illegal?
