The Conard-Pyle Co. was incorporated in 1897 and is located in southern Chester County, Pa. Since our inception, roses have been the specialty, using the Star Rose trademark that dates from 1907. For the first 80 years, the business was primarily mail order to home gardeners. In 1978, all retail operations were discontinued and it became wholesale trade only. For the 1989 fiscal year, our gross income was just under $10 million, of which almost 15% was royalties generated by the licensing of plant patents. Just over 38% of those royalties was paid to the originators of the patented plants since Conard-Pyle Co. has no plant breeding program of its own. My objective in this paper is to illustrate how this arrangement works to the benefit of our company, the originators of the new varieties, the horticultural industry, and the public. Before the U.S. Plant Patent law was enacted by Congress and signed in 1930 by President Hoover, a plant breeder had no “rights” in his breeding results. At best, a breeder had 1 to 3 years of exclusivity on propagating a new cultivar before the competition would have plants to sell. To try to pay for his efforts, the breeder would have to charge exorbitant prices during the first years, which would limit sales, so only a few buyers would enjoy the new cultivar. In patenting his “inventions”, the breeder could license them and collect royalties to finance his breeding work. The breeder also could promote and advertise the new plants. Plant patents stimulate commercial and other plant breeding. Those who buy, use, and enjoy a product pay for its design and development, as well as its making and marketing. Although specializing in roses, The Conard-Pyle Co. is very much involved with other ornamental plants. We produce >700,000 container-grown ornamental for sale each year, primarily hollies, juniper, euonymus, leucothoe, azaleas and rhododendron, and 40 other genera and species of ornamental hardy in U.S. Dept. of Agriculture hardiness Zones 4 through 8. The introduction of new cultivars has always been an important adjunct of our business. We encourage creators of new kinds of plants to contact us and inform us how their new plant differs from other plants of the same species. If the new plant is of interest, we request propagating material, or one or a few plants for evaluation. We assign to the new plant a code number for identification purposes and then sign a testing agreement with the originator. This agreement identifies the originator as owner of any and all plants that were derived from the new plant and assigns the originator the rights to these plants. Should we determine the cultivar is new and different and has commercial value, we will reach an agreement with the originator for purchasing the rights to the cultivar and for obtaining the plant patent. We assume all costs and responsibilities associated with the new and distinct cultivar. These include the preparation and filing of the plant patent application, propagating and growing all stock plants, and the marketing and promotional costs. Since the plant patent is applied for in the name of the originator, we ask the originator to assign the patent to The Conard-Pyle Co. This makes us responsible for any policing and enforcement of the plant patent. Our payment to the originator is a percentage of the royalties we receive for each plant sold by The Conard-Pyle Co. or any of our licensees who grow and sell the variety. In 1989, we paid in excess of $150,000 to each of two breeders.