VS. 
GLOBAL ADOPTION
US INNOVATION
Utility Patent to a Plant: 35 U.S.C. §§ 111 (101, 102, 103, 112)
Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303 (1980)
Held living things were indeed patentable (transgenic bacterium)
Bayh-Dole Act (1980)
Permitted universities to commercialize their technologies
Ex Parte Hibberd, 227 USPQ 443 (PTO Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1985)
Ruled that seeds, plant tissue cultures, and the plant itself are patentable subject matter under the utility patent statute (plant variety)
J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., 534 U.S. 124 (2001)
Held newly developed plant breeds fall within the scope of §101, and neither the PPA or PVPA limits this coverage
- Technology neutral
- 20 year protection from date of filing
- Right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, and importing the patented plant in the granting territory
- Possible to protect varieties having specific traits, plant parts and methods of producing or using plant varieties