Dec. 7, 2012 — Proven Winners Color Choice®, Encore® Azaleas, Endless
Summer Collection®, First Editions®, The Knock Out® Family of Roses,
Drift® Roses, and Southern Living® Plant Collection have expanded the
Plant Watch nursery inspection program.
Dec. 7, 2012 — Proven Winners Color Choice®, Encore® Azaleas, Endless Summer Collection®, First Editions®, The Knock Out® Family of Roses, Drift® Roses, and Southern Living® Plant Collection have expanded the Plant Watch nursery inspection program aimed at protecting their plant patents and branded programs throughout the U.S.
"Each year we do this inspection program, the value of the brands and patents becomes more clear to growers," said Jacques Ferare from Star Roses and Plants/The Conard-Pyle Company, the developers of the The Knock Out Family of Roses brand.
"We've worked hard to establish our brands and spend tens of thousands of dollars on patents. Enforcing these Intellectual Property rights is necessary to support our customers and licensees and ensures that compliance is improving."
Growers who comply with patent and branding requirements are at a disadvantage when infringers undercut prices. In order to support their network of compliant growers, Spring Meadow Nursery, Bailey Nurseries, Conard-Pyle, and Plant Development Services Inc. have hired Plant Watch to inspect nurseries, report on their findings, and collect fines where warranted.
Plant Watch has a proven track record in the industry, and has successfully intervened with infringers to curtail their illegal activities for over seven years.
"It's obvious our industry needs to sell more plants to more and different kinds of people," says managing director Peggy Walsh Craig. "Marketing new varieties helps make consumers aware of exciting new colours and sizes of plants and homeowners have more satisfying ways to beautify their gardens. When a few growers unfairly take advantage of the investment made by other nurseries in new varieties, the whole industry suffers from depressed prices."
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