Another Heirloom Sweet Potato patented

[DuckCreekFarms]

The variety Mahan or Mahon is an old heirloom variety. I have also discovered a sweetpotato here in Oklahoma that has been grown by a man for over 30 years which also appears to be identical to mahon.

Another variety that received a patent was "Stokes Purple" which I don't think is a "New and Distinctive" variety as there was no breeding work on it whatsoever.

I hate it when this kind of thing happens! Patents are out of control

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP20666.html mahon

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP17976.html stokes Purple

[wmontanez]

I agree the business of patenting or registering varieties of seeds is getting out of control

[remy]

I think this is ridiculous also. If you actually work on breeding and create something new, ok, I understand wanting to make money from your hard work, but to patent plants like this is very unethical.
Remy

[Fusion_power]

Did you note the name of the person who patented Mahon?

DarJones

[mjc]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

Did you note the name of the person who patented Mahon?

DarJones

Mahon, John A. (310 Third St., Cheraw, SC, US)

Sweet potato farmer, minister and CEO of some charity...

[Tom Wagner]

http://www.medicinenet.com/psoriasis...ow/article.htm
Sweet potato plant named ‘Mahon Yam’
United States Patent PP20666

A new variety of sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas, identified as ‘Mahon Yam’ is disclosed having superior eating quality. ‘Mahon Yam’ is characterized by an orange fleshed root that when cooked is sweet, moist and not stringy or fibrous (i.e. creamy). The plant itself is distinguished by unusual leaves for an eating quality sweetpotato, they are seven (7) lobed.

The `Mahon Yam` variety resulted from continuous, rigorous selection and reselection from over 25 years for eating quality, productivity and visually appealing shape. `Mahon Yam` originated from a discovery selection of plants grown from storage root derived sprouts from a group of storage roots received from an old farmer in Chesterfield County, S.C. The name of the parent variety is unknown. After some years, the yearly reselection sweetpotatoes were informally compared to the parent variety from the original farm and found to be a darker orange, more attractive, flesh color as well as being sweeter with a smoother mouth feel. The `Mahon Yam` variety was continued to be cultivated to be improved by further election each and every year until being sent to the NCSU Micropropogation Unit. This particular mutation, the `Mahon Yam` is excellent for eating with a unique leaf shape for vegetable sweetpotatoes. The best potatoes were sent to the NCSU Micropropagation Unit in order to eliminate viruses and pathogens via mericulture clean up. Asexual reproduction: `Mahon Yam` has been asexually propagated via storage roots derived sprouts from continually reselected plants and storage roots since its original selection over twenty-five years ago. Storage and plant selection was done at 310 Third Street, Cheraw, S.C. Each year the most productive, best tasting were selected and the storage roots were separately stored for the next years trials at this location.

Inventors:
Mahon, John A. (310 Third St., Cheraw, SC, US)
Application Number:
12/217597
Publication Date:
01/19/2010
Filing Date:
07/07/2008
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation
Primary Class:
PLT/256
International Classes:
A01H5/00
Field of Search:
PLT/258, PLT/256
View Patent Images:
Download PDF PP20666 [IMG]file:///C:/Users/THOSWA%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.jpg[/IMG] PDF help
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP20666.pdf

[mjc]

Anyone know if Mr. Mahon ever sold slips for this so-called variety, before applying for the patent?

If anyone has record of pre-patent sales, it should be fairly easy to get that one thrown out.

[Fusion_power]

Mahon was available through South Carolina Crop Improvement and through a few other sources over the years.

http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/seed/heirloom.htm

This link no longer has it listed, but a couple of years ago, it was included. This is from the 2007 listing:
Mahon Sweet Potato - We are happy to offer plant of this "personal favorite" HEIRLOOM grown by Dr. Bradshaw. Very vigorous grower and very productive. A rose-colored skin covers rich orange flesh. While there may be slight variability in the flesh color, the flesh is always richly sweet and creamy with very few strings. Many growers have reported white tail deer select other sweet potato varieties to browse, leaving the Mahon potatoes with little damage.

I would be interested in finding out if Mr. Mahon is the original source of the sweetpotato in question. This patent may be a legitimate effort to prevent someone else from stealing a plant variety. In other words, the patent is to protect something that was at risk of being nicked by one of the big companies. On the other hand, it could just be opportunism.

DarJones

[mjc]

The problem is, it's too late now...once it has been sold, all bets are off. It shouldn't have been granted a patent in the first place.

[Tom Wagner]

Many varieties are being selected through meristem culture. A case in point is with the Russet Norkotah variety of potato. Many clones are reselected for bigger vines and more yield. Those are highly protected lines. Therefore selections within a variety are more important than the original clone. At one time it was near impossible for one to get Norkotah 3, now it is the about the only one some seed producers sell as certified potatoes.

I suspect that many old time varieties of all types of fruits and vegetables will be protected this way. Those who wish to spend the money will control the industry.

[Fusion_power]

So this guy takes Mahon into a tissue culture lab and cleans it up getting rid of virus and mycoplasma. Then he patents the resulting cultivar? That sounds pretty fishy to me. It leaves the door open to anyone doing meristem culture claiming that a cleaned up clone is patentable.

DarJones

[mjc]

Time to nip it in the bud...patent trolls are patent trolls, no matter where they are found.

We need to educate a few folks on basic botany...maybe some rudimentary genetics, too...and it looks like the USPO needs to be pretty darn high on that list. Followed by most US justices (especially Circuit Court ones).

[DuckCreekFarms]

I received my Mahon from SC WI R. who received it from Dr Bradshaw, who apparently found it and named it several years ago. I have it listed on my website as Mahan, but will probably change it to Bradshaw as some other people have done, so as not to risk Confrontation


At about the same time I received an unknown heirloom variety from an older gentleman here in Oklahoma that had grown his variety for over 30 years, he received it from a neighbor that had grown it years before that. After growing it out, I found it to be identical to Mahon.

The description in the patent describes the variety I have (and I must say) is one great tasting sweetpotato..BUT this "new" Mahon it is NOT a new and distinctive cultivar as the Patent says!

Another variety that was awarded a patent was the "Stokes Purple" another variety that was apparently cleaned up by tissue culture.

[Medbury Gardens]

Anyone wishing to buy,grow and sell the Heirloom Mahon obviously would still be able to,the problem is there's such a gray area between the tissue cultured Mahon and the heirloom that it would be so difficult to monitor just who's growing what.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by DuckCreekFarms

I received my Mahon from SC WI R. who received it from Dr Bradshaw, who apparently found it and named it several years ago. I have it listed on my website as Mahan, but will probably change it to Bradshaw as some other people have done, so as not to risk Confrontation

If what you received is in fact the same variety that was patented, then distribution
occurred long before the patent application was applied, and thus the patent
is not valid.
Of course, if what was patented is not the same as what you have, then you
don't have anything to worry about!

I suspect if you've got good documentation that dates your receipt of the variety,
the patent holder will probably agree that what you have is "different" rather than
admit their patent is not valid.

Win-win for you.

Lee