I received a catalog today, the rose people. They list H arborescens Annabel PPAF. Do you think it is possible to patent a plant that is indigenous to N. America?
Gary
PPAF Annabell ?
The 'Annabelle' cultivar was probably one that was selectively bred or arose as a sport from the original indigenous H. arborescens and has some characteristics that are different than the straight species (otherwise it wouldn't have a cultivar name either!) One can certainly patent something like that.
ECrane is right, of course, but Annabelle has been around for so many years, I don't see it. I looked at Spring Meadows website, they are right on top of all patents, and they don't list it as PPAF.
Maybe the catalogue made a mistake?
I hadn't thought about the timing...PPAF means plant patent applied for, and if Annabelle was patented it's an old enough cultivar that the patent would have already been granted, so it would be sold with something saying PP#_______. So I'd guess it's a mistake as well (but I think there are some of the newer H. arborescens cultivars that are patented or PPAF). But everything else I said is still true--cultivars that are developed and propagated have some sort of distinguishing characteristic that made them worth propagating, and as long as you follow certain rules and meet certain criteria, those cultivars can be patented.
Annabell PPAF is listed on page 71 of the Jackson and Perkins catalog. There is other cultivars of arborescens that has different names. If there cultivar is patented, how could they distuingish there Annabell from the Annabell's that is in my yard?
Gary
If J&P is correct about Annabelle being patented, then the one in your yard is also covered under that patent. Annabelle is Annabelle, and if theirs are patented yours is too, the patent covers any plant of that particular cultivar. I'm still not positive they're correct about its patent status though. If you look at their listing for Endless Summer which is a much newer cultivar, it has a patent number which means the patent's been granted already. And if I'm not mistaken, Annabelle's been available in the trade much longer than Endless Summer, so therefore its patent should have also come through by now, so there should be a patent number not just PPAF. (the way patents work, once something's already out in the trade you can't patent it anymore, you have to file your patent application before your cultivar is widely known/available...so if someone tried to file a patent on Annabelle recently, it won't be granted because it was already well known in the trade before they applied)
In Michael Dirr's book on hydrangeas, he says that 'Annabelle' has been around since 1910, so it's unlikely there is a recent patent filed for it. However, Dirr also explains that there are efforts to improve the plant and that several selections are currently under evaluation. They are looking for slightly smaller inflorescences and also hoping to breed some pink color into the mopheads. I haven't seen the catalog listing, but is it possibly an "improvement"?
If they do that, then I would think they'd give it a different name. The improvements could definitely be patented, but I really think they'd have to sell it under a different name in order to have any ability to enforce their patent. The J&P site doesn't mention anything about it being improved or different in any way from the Annabelle that's been around for a while.
I agree. Must be a mistake. I wouldn't worry about propagating any 'Annabelle' in my garden!
Maybe it's a marketing gimmick to make you think it is a j&p exclusive.
Or to make you afraid to propagate it, that way you'll buy multiple plants from them rather than making your own from cuttings!
lol
When you create as many webpages as they probably do, you sometimes first create the new webpage same as another one. The new one is then tweaked to add the information appropriate for it.
I suspect the old one was for a patented shrub and the designation carried over into the new webpage in error. Their QA Department never caught the error.
I sent an email to J & P asking about this. They havent responded.
Gary