Royalties

A royalty is a fee charged at sale for each patented plant sold. Usually, it is a few cents per plant. and This money goes to the plant breeder, as well as funding marketing efforts that help sell more of your plant by providing advertising of the plant and ideas on how to use the plant to its best advantage (the marketing fee goes to marketing, the royalty ALL goes to the breeder). The more plants sold the higher the annual royalty check to the breeder will be, so it is important to have not only the best genetics, but also a strong marketing and promotional program to insure the success of a plant's introduction. As an example; if 50,000 plants are sold and there is a 2 cent royalty on each plant, the total royalty earned is $1,000. Royalties are negotiable, but a lot depends on the plant and the size market it may have upon introduction. For instance, with over 700 cultivars of geraniums on the market, a new geranium will be competing for sales more than a unique plant with little competition. On the flip side, well known garden plants like geraniums tend to sell more units because consumers are familiar with them where a new crop may sell less initially until people become familiar with the plant.

Foreign countries & Plant Patents

• Canada, Australia, South Africa, Europe and Japan all have their own plant patents & laws. A United States patent does not protect you in any foreign country. Proven Winners and our international partners can help with this process.
• Many other countries do not offer patent protection such as China and SE Asia where illegal propagation of many patented hybrids is currently standard operating procedure. If your plant is taken to one of these countries you have no legal recourse against illegal propagation unless you have a binding trial agreement in place prior to plant shipment and a partner like Proven Winners working with you.

A patent is only as good as the company representing you; in order for a plant patent to be protected you need an enforcer, without an enforcer you may find it very hard to protect your rights. Proven Winners is respected worldwide for policing their patents and stopping illegal propagation.

If my plant is not patentable can I still get a royalty for it?

Yes, but it must be written into a licensing agreement where the person selling your plant agrees to pay a ‘voluntary royalty’ on each plant sold.

For more information about plant royalties, contact our experts