What is a plant patent?

A plant patent is a legal document that grants the patent holder exclusive rights to a particular plant variety. Plant patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). These patents protect the rights of the patent holder from having their new plant variety propagated, sold, or used without their permission. In Mississippi, any person or entity who is the inventor of a new and distinct asexually reproduced plant can file for a plant patent. To receive a patent, the inventor must make an application with the USPTO that includes essential information and documentation such as a description of the new plant variety and photographs. The USPTO then examines the application to ensure that the plant variety is indeed new, distinct, and asexually reproduced. If the application is approved, then the patent is issued. Plant patents have a term of twenty years, so the patent holder has twenty years of exclusive rights to their plant variety. When a plant patent is issued, a genetically identical version of the plant variety can only be propagated, sold, or used with the permission of the patent holder. Therefore, these patents provide the patent holder with exclusive rights to a plant variety, which can be very beneficial to their business.

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What is a plant patent?

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