Victoria Clare29/4/04 9:51
10

(Nick Maclaren) wrote in news:c6qbg3$ek6$1
@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk:

You may ignore all such crap, until and unless the monopolists
get the IP laws extended to covering such things. At MOST, you are
forbidden to propagate plants FOR SALE, and that applies only to
plants with Plant Breeder's Rights.

And we hope not.

I believe that patenting a living thing is not, and should not be, the same
as patenting a simple gadget.

A living thing is as much a commodity as anything else. Race horse owners
shouldn't be paid if their mare produces a promising foal or their stallion
covers a good brood mare? The semen straws cattle breeders send abroad
should be free?
In the case of plants, the grower and or breeder has had to spend hours
working on it, has to bulk up and get together enough samples for testing,
has to send the plant to various labs for that testing and perhaps
comparison against other, similar plants, has to spend time and money on
compost, pots, heating, lighting and then, finally, has to spend quite a lot
of money licensing that plant as 'his product'. Without the people who do
that sort of thing you would be growing only species plants or plants that
had hybridised naturally in the wild. Many of the plants we all have now in
our gardens have been bred by someone deliberately and some have been worth
patenting, others haven't, so pass into the public domain freely. But just
think of all the great rose nurseries there have been and imagine rose
gardens without them. And that's just one plant. And I am prepared to bet
that if you bred a plant that could bring you in a reasonable income each
year, helping to make up for the otherwise small revenue of most nurserymen,
you wouldn't sniff at it! ;-)
snip
I agree with what Patrick has said in his post. Coming fairly new to this
life, it seems to me that some people think that a nurseryman is merely
enjoying a larger extension of what, to them, is a hobby. But the average
gardener is not spending money on staff wages, insurance, thousands of
pounds on compost and water rates; working in rain and freezing cold in
glasshouses or outdoors with a short half hour for lunch and then having
people moan if a plant is raised by 50p from one year to the next when
they're already reasonably priced! We have mercifully few customers who do
this but the ones that do I could cheerfully strangle. I see my husband and
my stepson working almost from dawn to dusk some days and then some idiot
groans because a plant has been potted on so has to be more expensive. Why?
Because that involves new pot, new compost, more labour. Why wouldn't a
plant breeder be allowed to make money out of his work? I'm sure you do. Or
don't you think you own your own living things - your brain, your hands?
Would you allow someone else use of them or your expertise and training
without payment?

Phew! Sorry about that! ;-)
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)