I saw online that it’s illegal to propegate one of the roses I was given. I also read that rose patents expire after 17 years.
How can I tell which varieties of rose have patents and when or if a given patent expires?
Many thanks
The easiest way to find out is to use the help me find roses website. At the bottom of the tab describing the rose it lists the year the patent was applied for or if a patent was obtained. However if your rose variety has been trademarked which is signified by either a TM after the variety name or an R surrounded by a circle you may not propagate the rose at all without owing royalties to the company which owns the rights to that rose.
3 Likes
That’s an excellent answer! Thank you so kindly.
1 Like
It would be Roses, Peonies, Clematis and everything rose, peony and clematis related.. Great resource!
1 Like
I believe rose patents run for 20 years, not 17. Are you propagating for your own garden or for sale?
We have personal gardens but we have a subscription cut flower service we’ve generated. So far I haven’t been able to get my roses to last long enough in a vase to want to include them in my subscriptions. I am getting new crop of roses from a supplier in the spring and I would like to be familiar with all the rules.
1 Like
Hi there, I have seen so many debates about patents and trademarks…from what I have gathered following some of the discussions on FB groups that the patent protection is 20 years from the date of filing but after the patent expires you are able to propagate legally and sell, from what I have witnessed concerning mainly David Austin Varieties is that you just can’t use the Trademarked name anymore but can use the registration name. Example being David Austin Jude the Obscure (TM name) being sold post patent expiration as AUSjo. I have done research online trying to find clear explanations for all of this but have found that it is tedious and the information out there is about as clear as a bucket of mud. 
Why breeders and companies make this so hard to find clear concise information about these issues is odd to me because they do go on and on about breeder royalties and how it is a big problem with people propagating and them not receiving their breeder royalties but leave the real homework up to the laymen, who just want to do the right thing, to dig through conflicting info online. But alas…until there is a clear and easy way to find the information then I would suspect people will keep on asking questions and getting vague answers. If anyone here knows where to find this information that is clear and concise then please direct me. Thanks!