Not an ad or anything but I got it from light.bio if you’re curious. Super cool product, I’ve been waiting for a company to successfully bring a bioluminescent plant to the market for a decade and it finally happened!
Man… Fuck the US patent system. “Our Firefly Petunias are protected under patent, and as such, propagation and breeding are not permitted. These petunias are sold exclusively for personal use.”
To be fair, they probably spent years of time, effort and money to design this product. Why should someone else be able to propagate it and profit from their blood sweat and tears?
‘Personal use’ covers propagation and breeding by an individual, for non-commercial purposes. Nobody’s saying -you- can’t try to propigate or breed them, but you could be libel if you try to make money off the endeavor.
In this case I would say the patent system is working as intended, in that it gives some protection to LightBio’s investment into creating the firefly. While I would LOVE to see an expanded variety available from other -commercial- growers (with MUCH larger operations and funding), I don’t want it to be at the expense of LightBio’s effort, or the commercial success they’ve earned for creating it in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong, I still feel dirty for defending the US patent system. lol
I mean they invested into R&D to develop it, I think it’s fair for them to have exclusive rights to sell it to recoup that investment and make a profit. This is a novelty item, not like an essential staple food or medication.
