Beyond the Greenhouse: How to Protect What You’ve Bred, Crossed and Created

About this event

Plant innovations can be protected under several distinct legal mechanisms in the United States. Knowing which one fits your work and when to pursue it isn’t always straightforward.

This presentation offers a practical walkthrough of U.S. plant patents, Plant Variety Protection certificates and utility patents as they apply to new varieties, genetic traits and related technologies. We’ll break down what each form of protection actually covers and does not cover, including how far it extends across generations and breeding activities. We will discuss strategies for choosing the right approach (or combination of approaches) for your innovation. Whether you’re new to plant IP or looking to sharpen your strategy, this session is designed to give you actionable guidance you can use.

For more than 25 years, WARF has been a primary conduit for plant germplasm developed at UW-Madison that gets protected and licensed to private industry, from small grains to potatoes to cranberries to beets. WARF generates revenue that comes back to the university in many ways, including support of graduate student research, fellowships and support for inventors and their departments. In addition, WARF has represented and protected the inventions of UW faculty, staff and students for more than 100 years.

Presenters:

• Tammy VanHeyningen, Partner, Quarles

• Erin Swinstead, Associate, Quarles

• Aaron Lowenstein, Patent Scientist, Quarles

• Emily Bauer, Director of Licensing, Food & Ag, WARF

This session will be held in person and will also be livestreamed.

Or, register for the November 12 session instead.

From Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation