Troutman Pepper Helps Arcadia Biosciences Secure Certificate Protection Under Plant Variety Protection Act

ROCHESTER, NY – Troutman Pepper client Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., a consumer-driven agricultural technology company, was granted certificate protection for five new plant varieties of Hemp (Cannabis sativa) under the Plant Variety Protection Act. Founded in 2002, Arcadia Biosciences focuses on developing and commercializing high-value branded food ingredients, nutritional oils, and products that improve human health and farm productivity while minimizing the impact of agriculture on the environment.

Plant variety protection for hemp varieties is now possible under the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, which removed Cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance, so long as it is categorized as “hemp,” or Cannabis with less than 0.3% THC. 

Troutman Pepper attorney Tate L. Tischner and patent agent Ann J. Slade applied for and obtained the plant protections on behalf of Arcadia through the USDA’s Plant Variety Protection Office of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Tischner is a registered patent attorney with an M.S. in botany who counsels clients with agricultural and biotechnology related intellectual property assets, including protections for plants and plant varieties in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the USDA. Slade has a Ph.D. in molecular biology and has previously served as a senior scientist at a number of agricultural biotechnology companies developing diverse crops with novel traits.

About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including construction, energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, private equity, and real estate, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.

Our Cannabis Practice provides advice on issues related to applicable federal and state law. Marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law.