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Asked by: Slama Cellier
business and finance biotech and biomedical industryHow do you find out if a plant is patented?
Accordingly, what does it mean if a plant is patented?
A plant patent is granted by the UnitedStatesgovernment to an inventor (or the inventor's heirs orassigns) whohas invented or discovered and asexuallyreproduced adistinct and new variety of plant, other than atuberpropagated plant or a plant found in anuncultivatedstate.
Also question is, can natural plants be patented?
In 1930, the United States began grantingpatentsfor plants. Plants discovered in "thewild" oruncultivated state cannot be patented,because they occurfreely in nature. But a plantdiscovered in acultivated area can be patented, evenif it isdiscovered in a cultivated area owned by someoneelse.
This type of patent costs an averageof$2,000. A plant patent is relatively unique in thatitprotects inventors of new plant types which arereproducedunder specific conditions. Depending on your inventionand theprocesses involved, expect to pay between $4,000 and $8,000forthis type of patent.