Bon Brand

Did you know Patent Storm ‘offers the full-text U.S. patents and patent applications from the U.S. Patent Office’. In this case the process of a dwarfism gene which produces a petunia plant and flower which are reduced in size.

Plant Breeders’ Rights PBR’s are a form of intellectual property that offers legal protection for the investment plant breeders make in breeding and developing new varieties.

For more on gardening see Gardeners Tips for how to grow plants with PBR’s

Patently Obvious Patents

A patentable invention must be new, have an inventive step that is not obvious to someone with knowledge and experience in the subject and be capable of being made or used.
The patent helps you prevent others from making, using, importing or selling your invention without permission for up to 20 years and also allows you to:

* sell the invention and all the intellectual property (IP) rights
* license the invention to someone else but retain all the IP rights
* discuss the invention with others in order to set up a business based around the invention.

Enforcing IP Rights

I go on about the value to a business of Intellectual Property Rights but you do need to monitor and enforce these rights. You create or acquire these rights, often at a significant cost, so you do need to protect your finances and sometimes your reputation. If planning to take a commercially pragmatic view on a breach it is best to prepared the ground by taking appropriate advice and assessing your options first.

Jane Lambert, a barrister specialising in intellectual property, technology, media and entertainment and competition law, has written an authoritative yet accessible book. Called ‘Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights: A Concise Guide for Businesses, Innovative and Creative Individuals’ it is available from Amazon and good business libraries. This book may help you get the best value out of your Intellectual Property Rights.

Photo courtesy of marilynnm63 Creative Common license on Flickr