Delano Farms Co. v. California Table Grape
Comm'n
Addressing the issue of public use under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
in the context of an unauthorized use open to the public, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district
court's finding that the actions of third parties who obtained
samples of two patented plant varieties in an unauthorized manner
and planted them in their farms did not constitute a public use,
finding that the plants were not accessible to the public.
Delano Farms Co. v. California Table Grape Comm'n,
Case No. 14-1030 (Fed. Cir., Jan. 9, 2015) (Bryson, J.).
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) patented
table grape varieties known as the Scarlet Royal and Autumn King;
it then exclusively licensed the two patents to the California
Table Grape Commission (Commission), a California public agency
that sublicenses the patents to California grape growers. The
three plaintiffs, California grape growers who purchased
