US Plant Patent PP12398
Sutter
Prune tree named ‘Sutter’
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Patent expired March 28, 2020. This plant is in the public domain — anyone may propagate and sell it.
No term adjustment or disclaimer is recorded against this patent, so this is the full statutory term — twenty years from the filing date.
The record
- Patent number
- PP12398
- Filed
- March 28, 2000
- Granted
- February 5, 2002
- Expires
- March 28, 2020
- Assignee
- UNIV CALIFORNIA
- Inventor
- DEJONG THEODORE M; DOYLE JAMES F
Abstract
A new and distinct cultivar of prune tree (i.e., Prunus domestica) is provided that resulted from a controlled breeding program. Quality early-maturing fruit is formed that is particularly well suited for the dried fruit market. The tree is regular bearing and vigorous. Dark purple fruit with a medium waxy bloom is formed that, when compared to the fruit of the "Improved French' cultivar (non-patented in the United States), is larger, matures approximately 7 to 10 days earlier, and possesses a lighter, more complex fruity taste with a higher sugar content. The fruit stone is nearly free and machine pits well.
Show the legal claimThe single numbered claim as granted — the legal text that defines what this patent covers.
We claim: 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Prunus domestica tree exhibiting the following combination of characteristics: (a) exhibits a vigorous growth habit, (b) is productive and regular bearing, and (c) forms dark purple fruit with a medium waxy bloom capable of being dried to a high quality prune that, when compared to the fruit of the ‘Improved French’ cultivar, is larger, matures approximately 7 to 10 days earlier, and possesses a lighter, more complex fruity taste with a higher sugar content; substantially as herein shown and described.
Read the full patent: US Plant Patent PP12398 in full — the complete specification, every figure, and the file history.