The Conard-Pyle Company reached a settlement recently with a Central Florida nursery and landscaper found to have infringed its plant patent and trademark rights on the popular Knock Out roses. The infringement was settled out of court, and part of the settlement is that the grower go unnamed publicly.
In addition to imposing a financial penalty, Conard-Pyle required the infringer to destroy a large number of infringing plants. The nursery and landscaper was in violation of United States Plant Patent Laws that states no one may asexually propagate or sell any patented plant without the permission of the patent owner.
“Illegal propagation is a topic that we take very seriously,” says Jacques Ferare, vice president of licensing for the Conard-Pyle Co. “As the introducer of the Knock Out roses, we are committed to ensuring that Knock Out plants are grown and marketed only by legitimate growers. This not only protects these legitimate nurseries, it also guarantees the consumer is getting the real thing and not a ‘knock off.'”
To ensure the rights of the Knock Out brand of roses are being protected, Conard-Pyle is taking legal steps to enforce its trademark and plant patent rights throughout the industry.
For more information on Knock Out roses, visit www.theknockoutrose.com.