Disclosure Steps
You've bred a new cultivar. Now what?
There is a support system in place that will lead you through the steps necessary to protect your plant variety and introduce it to commerce:
You will need to complete the university Plant Variety Disclosure Form. This form will alert the university of your discovery and will start the process of protection and commercialization.
The form will ask you for information regarding your cultivar. For example, you will be asked to provide a detailed description of your discovery including its novel aspects and application possibilities. This form also captures required information such as contact data, pending publications, plant trials, sources of funding, etc.
Once you have completed the Plant Variety Disclosure Form, you will need to obtain the appropriate signatures to complete the process. The plant breeder must sign the form, obtain witness signatures, and then route it to the following college representatives for signature before submission:
- Department Head or Center Director
- College Dean or Associate Dean for Research
The original document must be routed to and signed by each University representative indicated above. You may wish to make yourself a copy of the disclosure to keep for your records.
Once you have obtained the appropriate signatures, mail the original documents to:
North Carolina Agricultural Research Service
100 Patterson Hall
Box 7643
NCSU
Raleigh, NC 27695-7643
NCARS will, in turn, notify the Office of Technology Transfer regarding your submission and the review process will initiate.
Protection
Upon receipt of your completed university Plant Variety Disclosure Form, your plant variety will be added to two intellectual property meeting agendas:
- NCSU Breeders Release Board
- NCSU Intellectual Property Committee (IPC)
The Breeders Release Board will discuss aspects of your plant variety to determine appropriate next steps.
If the proposed plant variety is determined to be uniform, stable, and distinct from all other varieties, the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) will work with the plant breeder to manage the process of protecting the new cultivar.
A new plant variety can be protected in a number of ways including:
Commercialization
If a company is interested in commercializing the cultivar, the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) negotiates the appropriate agreements and licenses. Working closely with patent attorneys and the breeder(s), OTT negotiates licenses with growers, nurseries and seed companies interested in adopting the new variety.
The negotiating and licensing processes can be time consuming. OTT relies on the expertise and partnership of NCSU's inventors to expedite the process.
Income can be generated through the successful introduction of a new plant variety to business and industry. This income is a percentage of the revenue generated by the commercialization of the plant variety by the licensee (e.g. grower, nursery or seed company). Any realized income is distributed to the inventor(s) and the university system to fund continued research efforts and to cover university costs associated with protection and licensing procedures.
