Millet,

You, of course, are 100% right. The Sugar Belle will be superceded by the next newest and greatest but before then I'll be able to buy one at the local Box Store. I have several renowned citrus yet I still desire the better one. It truely is a sickness. I should be grateful and satisfied with what I have achieved in my short time that I have started to grow Citrus. I don't even have a reasonable spot to put it. I guess I'll wait. I'll still find out what I can from Ruth and report.

All about this "rights reserved" is something not common in Europe. Only in past few years I see something like registered trademarks on some varieties. If I can speak about my country, noone realy cared about those things in the past. And I have never heard about someone persecuted, because he or she propagated something without permition. This is all about this " capitalism" , where everything is counted by money. In the past, to create a new variety was a honor and biggest price for breeder was popularity, that he created something new and interesting.

You know, I don't usually participate in these sorts of politically-charged discussion, but I had to take exception to this one comment. Rad, I would respectfully disagree with your observation about "shitty capitalism". That "shitty capitalism" was what drew my grandparents and my relatives to both Canada and the USA from their respective European countries - the ability to have more opportunity, if they were willing to work hard. They had very little formal education, but they had their work ethic and their ingenuity and imagination. That's what copyrights and patents protect here - someone's intellectual creativity and for us here, then "property". That clever thought, invention, book, new plant cultivar, etc. can then be patented, allowing that person who invested their time, efforts, monies, and smarts to make a profit from their creation or invention. It is one of our foundations of our nation. My grandparents did very well for themselves, starting from extremely humble roots (that is code for "dirt poor"), to in some circumstances (my Italian grandmother), millionaires. My great-great uncle, Guglielmo Marconi was one of those people whose invention, the wireless telegraph, was protected by patents and copyrights, and he became very wealthy because he had a unique idea that no one else quite thought of. And, millions and millions of people benefited from his invention - it wasn't like he was the only one to gain enjoyment, benefit and an improved life from his inventions. I believe in the right to protect your invention or creation and enjoy the profits from it. You created, it should belong to you exclusively for a certain period of time.

Now, that said, the point Millet has made is a little different, and I agree with Millet. Some of our universities here in the United States are funded by public monies - our state university systems. Those educators, professors, researchers, etc. are essentially working for us, those of us that pay taxes, where a portion of those taxes go to support our state universities. They essentially "work for us", and thus, their research is not proprietary. The researcher, certainly, gives up any personal rights (it will be right in their work contract), and I feel the same as Millet, I do not believe that state university would have the right to copyright or patent their cultivars, as they're been developed on my dime. This does not follow with our concept of intellectual property rights here in the USA.

Lastly, I'm not an attorney, and I'm sure we've got some very able bodied attorneys on our forum who can set me straight, and explain how a state-funded university has the legal right to patent a cultivar they developed using my tax dollars. Our intellectual property rights & patent laws are complex, and even an attorney, if they do not specialize in this aspect of the law, will tell you, "it's complicated". I have worked closely with patent attorneys in my career, and I do have a little experience in this. But, I stand by our right here in the USA to the fundamental, constitutional right to "pursue happiness", and for us here in the USA, the right to reap the financial gain from your creation is one of those fundamental rights in the pursuit of happiness. It makes me proud to be an American to know I can create something, and the laws of my country will protect my creation or invention.

babranch, thank you for your well informed posting. Even though UF breeding programs may not operate totally on public taxes, the University of Florida does by taking in millions and millions and even more millions of dollars in public money in order to exist. The breeding portion at UF exists because the University exist. I don't want to beat this subject to death, but rather to point out the elitism, the obstructionism, the selectivity, that this publicly tax funded University in its quest for profit has decided to use, by restricting its breeding results from the people that they rely on for the Universities very life. Lastly, I wonder where the NVDMC, the organization that decides who is "allowed" or rather privileged to grow the UF's tree, get their money so they can exist------- -the puclic???? My last post on this subject. - Millet

Nope-- not the public

I use to despise the university of fl.. , but I am starting to warm up to them pretty quick now, I kind of like them.

Ruth never did call me back. I'll try again and I never found the time to call Peter. Maybe I'll do that tommorrow.

I totally agree that, if someone creates something unique/new, he/she wants this idea to be protected and has the right to make money from it. But I think a new plant variety is more a matter of "pure luck" than it is of "intellect". (not talking about genetic engineering here). So how can a cross that happens to be interesting be "intelectual property"?

I know that it is a bit off topic, but
this "®" is total nonsense, imagine, if every engine producer should pay to Isaac Newton or Einstein progeny, because each machine works on Newton or Einstein defined principle.
In fact, patent system is now the brake of progress and common prosperity. Big companies, for example from crude oil business are buying all patents, where can harm their business, the same thing with software aplications, or registered cures, on which the real price is just small part of selling price and they are even unreachable for sick people in some countries, because of patent protection.

So Marc, did you ever get the Blood / Meyer cross?

Nope... Bad luck... I will get it as soon as I can find it!

Now let's get back to the dekopon!

I think I have made the decision to plant my Dekopon in my front yard. It will get full sun there. I have Centennial kumquat to keep it company and I probably will find few more to stick out there. Maybe a Sugar Belle!