Be careful, these are patent protected and cannot be asexually reproduced under any circumstances. I'd hate to hear that you are now posting from the "big house" after the patent police take you away.

As long as you don't start selling them I doubt the plant police will be calling.

Probably not.
But it's worth hesitating to remember the REASON it is illegal.
You are stealing from the rose's creator the few cents he is due, per plant propagated.

It's one of those deals where, SURE, you can get away with it. But it's still a crummy thing to do.

Jeri

Though I will not make a big deal about it, its stealing regardless of whether or not its for you or someone else. It probably only took 10,000 different seedlings to come up with the 1 good plant he is now able to make some money on. JMO.

As of late, I've been doing a little reading on rose hybridizing and reading the rose hybridizers on-line forum...and one thing that has really made an impression is the amount of careful, meticilous work that goes into producing seedlings, almost all of which (after careful nuture and care) are bound to be destroyed as "unworthy" by their breeder. And not uncommnly, after plants have been nurtured for years.

The odds of creating a cross worthy of commercial release are so vast that it is a wonder anyone has a strong enough spirit to persevere in such a daunting pursuit. Just reading about what it takes is exhausting.

To actually do the work to create a new and beautiful rose that enters commercial release, deserves to be respected. I don't think anyone who REALLY understands what goes into getting a rose into the market, would propagate a protected rose, whether the "patent police" were looking, or not.

Bill

Is there any legal issue about hybridizing from patented plants? For example, can someone polinate a Knockout rose with another rose to create his own hybrid, or is the pollen from the Knockout rose also patented?

Robert

Yes you can take a patented rose and use it in your hybridizing program. That is how Tom Carruth came up with "Home Run".

I can't believe anyone even said anything to buckeyejoe about sticking some cuttings in his own soil. Pleeeeeease. Even though I haven't done that with roses, I certainly have divided perennials & shared them with friends -- the same with iris & bulbs & dahlia's. Get real. He didn't do a darn thing wrong & I think it's cool that they rooted for him so easily.

So what do you all propose buckeyejoe do? Contact the breeder and confess his sins? Send the breeder a check for every cutting that rooted? Shovel prune every single cutting that rooted?

One can use a patented rose in a breeding program, people do it all time.

One could even cross Knockout with Knockout to create a "new" rose, and that would be perfectly legal.

But "cloning" a patented rose by rooting cuttings is neither legal, or ethical if the rose is in commerce.

As I said, the more one understands what goes into making a releasable rose, the more you understand why hybridizers intellectual property rights deserve protection.

He should not do anything. I was making a point about the legality of it. Quite a few people might not realize this is illegal. Its up to him then if he wants to continue doing this. I just gave away about 150 roses that were patented because I could not cut them. That is just me.

I wonder if the Hell's Angels have a rose chapter? Just kidding guys.

At least, if you do it for yourself, don't published the fact.
There are no patent police, but the patent holder could take you to court like the music industry is doing with some who illegally download from the internet. A few have been sued for some large sums of money.
I doubt it would happen unless you sold the results.