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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>> </span>I am in the seed movement & you may have heard there are initiatives to adapt an open source format for seeds to make them available to the public.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>AFAIK, most of what seeds do was patented long ago in the Bible and can no longer be restricted. Even the copyrightable aspects of what seeds do has long ago been turned into poetry. As to whether strings of DNA can be patented or copyrighted and then licensed in "an open source format" – this is probably not the correct list to ask.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There is a U.S. plant patent [1]. Such patents can then be licensed to the public like any other invention. You might want to develop some form of non-assert for "free" uses that makes sense for your seed specialty. Again, I doubt this is the best list to ask. You could approach some of the organic certification organizations, GMO advocacy groups, or even the USDA, to see if they are working on this.<span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>/Larry<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>[1] </span><a href="http://www.uspto.gov/patents/resources/types/plant_patents.jsp">http://www.uspto.gov/patents/resources/types/plant_patents.jsp</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>Lawrence Rosen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>Rosenlaw & Einschlag (<a href="http://www.rosenlaw.com/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.rosenlaw.com</span></a>) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>3001 King Ranch Rd., Ukiah, CA 95482<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>Cell: 707-478-8932 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>LinkedIn: <a href="http://lnkd.in/D9CWhD"><span style='color:#0563C1'>http://lnkd.in/D9CWhD</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext'> Patrick Masson [mailto:masson@opensource.org] <br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, October 20, 2014 11:09 AM<br><b>To:</b> tracymlord@gmail.com; License Discuss<br><b>Cc:</b> osi@opensource.org<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [License-discuss] [Osi] [General enquiries] OS license for seeds (!)<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in'>Tracy,<br><br><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"'>Thank you for contacting the OSI. I have forwarded on your question to our License Discuss</span> list. Perhaps someone on that list has a suggestion for you.<br><br>Best of luck,<br>Patrick<br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>On 08/05/2014 05:19 PM, <a href="mailto:tracymlord@gmail.com">tracymlord@gmail.com</a> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Tracy M Lord (<a href="mailto:tracymlord@gmail.com">tracymlord@gmail.com</a>) sent a message using the contact form at <br><a href="http://opensource.org/contact">http://opensource.org/contact</a>. <br><br>Can someone give me a thumbnail understanding of the legal status of the/any <br>"open source license"? I am in the seed movement & you may have heard there <br>are initiatives to adapt an open source format for seeds to make them <br>available to the public. Yet I am uncertain about the legal status of a <br>"license" in this context. Thanks a million anyone who wants to attempt toe <br>enlighten me on this. <br><br>Report as inappropriate: <br><a href="http://opensource.org/mollom/report/mollom_content/1408052eb66545b1bf">http://opensource.org/mollom/report/mollom_content/1408052eb66545b1bf</a> <br><br>_______________________________________________ <br>Osi mailing list <br><a href="mailto:Osi@opensource.org">Osi@opensource.org</a> <br><a href="http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/osi">http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/osi</a> <o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>-- <br> || | | |||| || || | |||| ||| | ||| <br>Patrick Masson<br>General Manager, Director & Secretary to the Board<br>Open Source Initiative<br>855 El Camino Real, Ste 13A, #270<br>Palo Alto, CA 94301<br>United States<br>OSI Phone: (415) 857-5398<br>Direct Phone: (970) 4MASSON<br>Skype: massonpj<br>Em: <a href="mailto:masson@opensource.org">masson@opensource.org</a><br>Ws: <a href="http://www.opensource.org">www.opensource.org</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>