Years of research, testing and expense have been incurred by the owners of this apple. It's not unlike any other patented or trademarked plants in that propagation is illegal.

To get an Opal apple tree however, you would need a cutting, not seeds. The Opal is across between the golden delicious and the Topaz, and depending on what pollinator was in the orchard, any fruit your saplings produce could be highly variable and may not resemble the apple you ate in any way. It's really not surprising no one was interested in helping you to successfully grow your own Opal trees from seed or otherwise, they are newly introduced and available for sale on a very limited basis - the owner may only be beginning to recover his initial time and investment.

I knew what I got would most likely be a crabapple; I was just amused they seemed to think I would get an Opal from the deal, somehow threatening their investment. I'm not surprised they would want to get a fair deal from Opal trees they would want to sell, but seeds? Seeds most people throw away? Have I really commited some sort of tort? What gives?

Propagation of patented plants in any way, shape or form without the owner's permission or until the patent term has expired, is strictly prohibited by federal law. They were within their rights to point that out to you :) Will they send the plant police, no - but the error was yours in the asking. No judgment here, I'm just pointing out what's legal - you appear to feel your toes were stepped on when technically they were not.

"20 years from the date of filing the application, protects the inventor's right to exclude others from reproducing, selling, or using the plant so reproduced."

I'm wishing I had gone into genetics (instead of the oh so unprofitable fine arts degrees I possess) and learned how to diddle the Malus DNA. Some Entish trees, like in the Wizard Of Oz, who would throw Opal apples at passersby would be interesting. That would be worth their worrying, but right now I'm just amused at their paranoia. Oh well. Would that I could afford some cool cultivars right now; I"m lusting after a Muscat De Venus, Jade, Rubaiyat, . . . probably all of which would die here in Texas.

This topic comes up regularly on the rose forum too. People taking cuttings off roses and rooting them, and patent violation etc.(at least it USED to come up a lot. I have not visited the rose forum in a few years.)

Roses, yes, you have a chance when growing from cuttings. You can (and I have) grown roses just like the original. I can understand them being cheesed about that (plus there is no way they can stop us! hee hee hee) Patience is all.
But an APPLE? Notorious for not following its parent? It just seems ridiculous to me. The two apples are bundles of stems outside, not flowering, definatly not fruiting, and yet felonious. Unreal.

Yes, it is a patented variety. Don't dismiss the possibility of someone showing up...only they will be there to arrest you quite publicly to get the word out and you will be facing hard time (5 years) per tree in federal prison. The penalties are the same as stealing music. And the "justice" system knows no limits when it comes to making example for those that lobby them with cash.

Also, Malus seeds do not breed true, so you will almost certainly end up with bad tasting apples (think apples that taste like wood or cotton). At best you have a 1/200 chance of getting a seed that produces an acceptable product.

Not worth bankruptcy, years in prison, convicted felon status, etc. to me for fruit that is inedible...but hey, perhaps God will save you.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=PP15963.PN.&OS=PN/PP15963&RS=PN/PP15963

Here is a link that might be useful: Opal apple

A message I got--No problem. We're definitely not going to come to your home to take the apple tree. It's required that we include the legal verbiage for your information. We hope you continue to enjoy Opal Brand apples!--
That was from the Facebook page. So I guess I won't get the Pomme Squad coming after me. I am not going to kill the poor little saplings, anyhow.

Planting the seed from a patented tree is not patent infringement. 35 USC 163 states:

"In the case of a plant patent, the grant shall include the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant"

The key word here is "asexually" generally referring to grafting or rooting. A seed is form of sexual reproduction and not covered by plant patents.

Also, patent infringement is a civil matter, not a criminal one.

My luck lately has been sufficiently bad that free rent at Club Fed would be an improvement (perhaps I am wrong about that, having never been incarcerated) but it is a relief to know I have not broken laws. I live dull, so everyone I know would be appalled to find I had stepped beyond the bounds of propriety. The blasted trees still have not made anything like flowering buds, so fruit is still a long way away, felonius or otherwise.

You just made me think of our Anna Apple tree. We are in process of moving into this house, 4 boxes per day, and the tree is a hike down our hillside. It's loaded with green apples with a slight pink blush, and I know the critters will come out full force soon to rob them from us.

I have not seen any apple seedlings popping up from the seeds the critters strew everywhere, and if some seedlings should hatch, they probably will not be Anna.

Have fun with your seedlings. I think it takes many years for a seedling to bear fruit. Good luck!
Suzi

Last summer while shopping at WalMart, the produce manager was thinning over-ripe peaches. I asked if the store would sell them at a reduced price. Couldn't because someone had gotten sick from buying them, not canned properly or something. If you buy REDUCED pricing, use your head & know they won't last as long as fresh picked or too-green-to-eat. So one igit keeps the rest of us from (1) canning still-good fruit and (2) it is wasted. Like a lot of you, it really bothers me.

Next time you sprout any seed don't tell every body about it. Have you ever looked up any of the other apple histories? A lot were unknown seedlings from known cultivars. Grimes Golden, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and so on. So what if it does make crab apples they make the best jam, jelly & pies.

Those trees are only seven feet high because I jammed some bamboo down around them and tied them to the sticks. Still no flowers, and of course no fruit. No DNA Deputies either. It is silly to think I would be growing Opals (and selling them) to all and sundry. Oh well. The trees will probably end up being part of the Food Forest here in Austin, and may end up being grafted upon. All those long vine like bits could be tied up to more bamboo and made into, say, a horse shaped tree. Or a longhorn. We shall see.

Curious. Any fruit yet from the seedlings? Planted 5 years ago?

We have two trees now planted from opal seeds and this year the biggest one went wild and made a ton of apples... they are delicious... they are striped with red. The apples are small still even when ripe due to the size of the tree itself (they should get bigger every year) but yes, they are producing. It took about 6 years if I remember when they were planted correctly. First in big pots to protect them, then transplanted into the ground. They went crazy after that and are very happy trees.