Michael R. Ward

For Ward, a background working with plants sprouted into a thriving intellectual practice that carries challenges all its own.

Many of those arise from the fact that dealing with intellectual property as it relates to seeds or plants means dealing with living things rather than lines of code or hardware.

“It’s very different than traditional work. When you’re talking about patent protections, people think about phones, software, or something someone built. Whereas a plant is a living organism, and it has all sorts of unique requirements about how you go about protecting them,” he said.

For one, verification that a product differentiates itself enough to warrant patent protection means shipping physical items and complying with laws governing international produce.

“You can’t protect a new variety in Europe without sending samples there for comparative testing,” he said. “They’re literally looking at the plants. They have to grow them up, and there’s issues with transporting.”

Even that testing carries more complications, because it means biological testing.

“In one case on strawberries, they required DNA analysis to show the material was covered by the patent. The DNA analysis was very complex,” he said.

Similarly, safeguarding his clients’ products requires protecting against more old-fashioned versions of corporate theft.

“There are issues in agriculture both in China and Europe and other countries where plant material is literally stolen. Most are grown out in open fields, and you’ll see cases where people will drive by and dig up plants and take them to their own field,” he said.

His clients include Bayer AG and UC Davis.

Ward, for his part, enjoys the physically present aspect of the work, because it gets him out into the field more often.

“There’s nothing better than heading out to the farm or the ranch and getting a tour of what’s going on out there,” he said. “I always say you cannot be a really good patent attorney unless you taste the product.”

A plant practice also means Ward’s work, and that of his clients, change at the whim of climate change and keep him on the forward edge of sustainability.

“My clients will say we need to develop artichokes that will thrive in this environment, or tomatoes with deeper roots, and we will protect those new varieties,” he said.

“The challenge is really working with clients and making sure that they understand all the different options available to them, and when you sell seeds, if you sell it too early your ability to get a patent can go away,” he added.

—Andy Serbe