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The Patent Garden

Genus

Prunus

1,494 US plant patents have been granted in this genus. 766 are already in the public domain — anyone may propagate and sell them. The next of the 728 still protected comes off patent on October 10, 2026.

On the name: Field [54] reads only 'YELLOW PEACH TREE' and the patent states no varietal denomination; 'Kurakata Yellow Peach Tree' (also written 'Kurakata Yellow Peach') is the name the plant was MARKETED under. Recorded because a marketed name is a trade name, which is legally different from a cultivar denomination: a denomination is generic and always free to use, whereas a trade name can be a live trademark. Treat this one as a brand, not a denomination.

Still under patent — 728 cultivars

Soonest to come off patent first. You may not propagate these for sale until the date shown.

Already in the public domain — 766 cultivars

Most recently freed first. Anyone may propagate and sell these plants — though the name it is sold under may still be a live trademark.

A patent expiring frees the plant, and its cultivar name comes with it — cultivar names cannot be trademarked, so they are always free to use. What it does not free is any brand name the plant is marketed under. Those are trademarks and renew indefinitely.