As
a grower of the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety you are to be congratulated!
You have demonstrated your desire to grow the most exciting
new apple in today’s market. You also have the opportunity
to be part of Pink Lady® America just as you are entitled to
use the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark as designated under the
terms of its trademark license.
For the grower, Pink Lady® America offers a multifaceted program designed to add value to the apple. This it does through the standardization of packages and quality requirements. It also has a merchandising/promotion effort underway that is utilizing a number of avenues in order to introduce this apple to the consumer.
The Pink Lady® trademark is a brand name used with the trees and fruit of the Cripps Pink Cultivar (U.S. Plant Patent 7,880).
A very important part of this program is, indeed, its trademark. It provides assurances that apples and trees sold under the trademark are of the highest quality, and have not come from inferior sports of the original patent variety. When these sports enter the market there is bound to be an adverse impact on the trademark used with the original variety. Therefore, the investment that goes toward the building of value of the trademark in the marketplace is diminished. While trademarking won’t prevent development of these sports, it will keep them from being marketed under the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark.
There is also value that comes with the purchase of a ‘name brand’ which is registered with the United States Patent & Trademark Office and can be protected from trademark infringement. The royalty which is paid helps to pay for the breeding program that developed the variety. If someone is able to go around the system and purchase the same product without paying the royalty, it tends to drag down the overall market value of the variety.
Of
course, creating a popular and recognized trademark greatly
enhances the value of a new apple variety. The Cripps Pink Cultivar
apple variety is certainly one of the top new varieties in today’s
highly competitive apple market. Proper and consistent use of
the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark with the trees and fruit
of Cripps Pink Cultivar adds even more value to this new apple
variety. Proper use of the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark
requires some special consideration that is explained below.
Like many other new varieties, the Cripps Pink Cultivar has an international background. This cultivar was developed by the Department of Agriculture for Western Australia, which owns all US and foreign plant patent and plant breeder’s rights. The Cripps Pink Cultivar is sold around the world under the brand name Pink Lady®.
The Cripps Pink Cultivar was brought to the U.S. by Brandt’s Fruit Trees, Inc.®of Parker, Washington (Brandt’s). In the U.S. the Cripps Pink Cultivar is a patented apple variety, protected by U.S. Plant Patent No. 7,880, issued on June 9, 1992 (“the ‘880 plant patent”). Brandt’s is Australia’s exclusive U.S. licensee for all plant patent rights to the Cripps Pink Cultivar and has in turn granted a limited number of sublicenses to nurseries in the U.S. for propagation and sale of the Cripps Pink Cultivar trees.
Brandt’s Fruit Trees is the exclusive
owner of the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark in the U.S.
The Use Of Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety Trademarks By Growers.
As a grower licensed to use the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark
you are involved in the production of a very special new apple.
You are entitled to use the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark as
designated under the terms of its trademark license. This allows
you to use the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark with all apples
grown by trees of the Cripps Pink Cultivar which have been legitimately
sold under the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety trademark. Growers may use
either version of the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety marks appearing below.
However, along with the opportunity to be in the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety family, the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety grower also needs to be aware of U.S. patent and trademark laws. This involves the need to insure that any nursery supplying Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety Cripps Pink Cultivar is in fact an authorized sublicensee of Brandt’s Fruit Trees, under both the ‘880 plant patent and the Pink Lady® trademark.
This is a simple procedure as each of the authorized sublicensees will be able to provide the grower an official Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety Cripps Pink Cultivar propagation sublicense. The easiest way to know if a nursery is properly licensed is to request a copy of the nursery’s Pink Lady® propagation sublicense.
If the nursery can’t provide a license, the grower should call Brandt’s Fruit Trees® at (509-248-7390 or 509-877-3193) to determine if the nursery is in fact an authorized distributor of this variety.
It’s also important for the grower
to know that the ‘Flowing Heart™’ logo is also trademarked
and a vital part of the Pink Lady® Brand Cripps Pink Variety program. Among
other authorized elements are the standards set for the logo.
As such, as the program continues to grow, the more often the
logo will become associated with a quality product. The use
of this logo is available only to members of Pink Lady®
America and/or the International Pink Lady® Alliance.
