Troutman Pepper Helps GreenVenus, LLC Secure Certificate Protection for a Gene-Edited Lettuce Variety Under Plant Variety Protection Act

ROCHESTER, NY – Troutman Pepper client GreenVenus, LLC, a leader in improving the quality of food for consumers and creator of the world’s first non-browning romaine lettuce through gene editing, was granted certificate protection May 13, 2022 for its new romaine lettuce variety ‘GVR-108XL’ under the Plant Variety Protection Act. With next-generation precision breeding through gene editing, GreenVenus is improving the quality of food for consumers and growers while reducing food waste and preserving valuable natural resources. 

In 2020, GreenVenus successfully built open field and controlled environment partnerships to trial its first non-browning romaine variety. The variety consistently outperformed the market standards in terms of overall quality and yield. GreenVenus’ ‘GVR-108XL’ lettuce variety has increased shelf life of lettuce leaves after harvest of up to 21 days, compared to 7-14 days for other traditional varieties. 

Troutman Pepper attorney Tate L. Tischner and patent agent Ann J. Slade, applied for and obtained the plant protections on behalf of GreenVenus 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. with a focus in molecular biology and has previously served as a senior scientist at several agricultural biotechnology companies developing diverse crops with novel traits.

About Troutman Pepper
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