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 lant
patents protect any distinct and new variety of asexually-reproducible plant,
including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly-found seedlings. Tuber-propagated
plants (such as Irish potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes) and plants found in
an uncultivated state may not be patented. The usual cost of preparing and
filing a plant patent application is between $1,850.00 and $3,680.00, broken
down as follows:
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FILING FEE |
$265 - $530 |
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ATTORNEYS' FEES |
$1,500 - $3,000 |
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MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES |
$50 - $150 |
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TOTAL: |
$1,850 - $3,680 |
These are only rough estimates to assist
you in planning, and do not include the cost of color drawings or color photographs,
which are necessary when color is a distinguishing characteristic of the new
variety. Additional prosecution fees are usually on the order of $800.00 -
$1,600.00. An issue fee of $320.00 ($640.00 for inventive entities having 500
or more employees) is payable to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office upon allowance.
A plant patent is in force for twenty (20)
years from the date of filing, and gives the patentee the right to exclude others
from asexually reproducing the plant or selling or using the plant so reproduced.
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