hybrid What happens when you breed copyrighted peppers?

SnakeForce

SnakeForce

Let's say you breed a copyrighted pepper with an uncopyrighted pepper, like the Habanero White Bullet®* with a purple cayenne or something; or what if you breed two copyrighted peppers, like the Peppadew®** and the Craig's Champion™*?
 
 
 
*(Copyrighted by Redwood City Co.)
**(Copyrighted by Peppadew International (Pty) Ltd.)
 
The copyright protects the name, not the genetic makeup of the pepper. You can grow the white bullet and sell it under another name if you want. However any reference, no matter how oblique, to the copyrighted name would land you in hot water. Calling it 'White Projectile' would be asking for legal trouble.
Opposed to a plant patent which covers the unique genetic makeup of the plant. So propagation or selling unauthorized patented plants would be a patent violation, regardless of what name you called it. In the horticulture industry this is commonplace. Philodendron 'Xanadu' was originally patented, and when that patent expired, the grower released 'Xanadu 2' as an improved patented variety.
https://patents.google.com/patent/USPP12506P2/en
 
So the copyright only affects the name? So if I breed two copyrighted peppers, it would not be copyrighted or owned by those two companies? (I don't want to copyright the peppers myself, but I am just curious)
 
SnakeForce said:
So the copyright only affects the name? So if I breed two copyrighted peppers, it would not be copyrighted or owned by those two companies? (I don't want to copyright the peppers myself, but I am just curious)
Click to expand...
Correct.


Additionally, in theory you could even breed and sell sexually reproduced offspring from patented plants, as long as they were materially different from the parents. However, Monsanto has more money than any hobbiest gardener, and their lawyers could easily bankrupt the average small business with legal costs.
 
thegreenman said:
The copyright protects the name, not the genetic makeup of the pepper. You can grow the white bullet and sell it under another name if you want. However any reference, no matter how oblique, to the copyrighted name would land you in hot water. Calling it 'White Projectile' would be asking for legal trouble.
Click to expand...
 

Pale Projectile Peppers!
 
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