General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm just going to leave this here quietly, then run like hell.... [View all]Major Nikon
(36,855 posts)Otherwise there would be little point in seeking a patent. Some people turn their hobbies into paying ventures. Not all the companies that market seeds, plants, and bulbs to gardeners have their own people developing new products. Many (if not most) of them rely on backyard gardeners to do the research and development and simply buy rights to their patents. This was the foundation of the original 1930 plant patent law and it still works today just as well as it worked back then to protect the intellectual property of those who develop such things. Now maybe Monsanto and companies like it have found a way to use those laws to their advantage, and they probably have even hired lobbyists to modify those laws in their favor, but that doesn't mean the law itself is all bad and we should cut off our nose to spite our face. In taking down Monsanto we also take down a lot of grandmas supplementing their fixed income with their hobby. It would also mean the US would have to withdraw from the UPOV, which would ultimately have a negative effect on the same growers you might suspect it would help because it's going to limit their ability to export to UPOV compliant nations.