United States Federal Circuit

In this patent litigation, plaintiffs filed suit against defendants U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Table Grape Commission seeking to invalidate two plant patents for varieties of table grapes on grounds that the two grape varieties were in public use for more than one year before the applications for both plant patents were filed, as two individuals had obtained samples in an unauthorized manner and planted them in their own fields. The district court decision rejecting plaintiffs' challenge to the validity of the plant patents is affirmed, where: 1) the two unauthorized users had incentives to keep their possession secret, created an environment of confidentiality, and maintained tight control over who knew about the grapes and their use; and 2) thus, the use of the grape varieties at issue was not public, even apart from the fact that it was unauthorized.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/09/2015
• Published 01/09/2015

Judges

• Bryson

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel