Marijuana legalization first started in Colorado and Washington, and has since gained immense momentum in the efforts to legalize marijuana across the U.S. With new states being added to the roster of recreationally legal marijuana states, such as California, a massive billion-dollar industry is in the process of becoming a reality. With the invention of new products that help safely deliver controlled doses of marijuana to patients, such as more regulated edibles and products, the ideas behind these products are getting more valuable.
The main question is: How do people protect their intellectual property?
Since marijuana is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance according to the government, there is a gray area here as to how the ideas and creations can be protected under intellectual property law. Gregg Steiner, spokesperson for Cabinet Garden, said “If the federal government has patents related to cannabis, I don’t see why others can’t also do the same.”
The Real Money: Supply the Equipment, Not the Marijuana
The real money in the marijuana industry could be in selling the machinery and equipment used to process and cultivate marijuana, instead of growing weed itself. This method of entering the marijuana industry allows innovators to have the least legal exposure to the cannabis industry, since they are not actively selling marijuana.
This is how other smoking devices are legal; water bongs can be sold with the disclaimer that it is meant for tobacco use only, when in reality they get used more often for smoking marijuana. Dylan Osborn, founder of GreenBox Grown, says “The safest opportunity is in technology for the cannabis industry.”
Saving Your Strain
One of the most contradicting things about marijuana related intellectual property is the difference in awarding trademarks and patents. The USTPO has granted patents on certain marijuana strains in California, while also denying requests for marijuana-related trademarks.
“The sooner you begin protecting your intellectual property the better, and the same holds true for the cannabis industry,” says Bob Morgan, a policy attorney at Much Shelist. “While trademarks continue to be denied for cannabis-related marks, patents for cannabis products hold promise. In fact, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently approved a patent for specific cannabis strains for growers in California.”
This is a matter of urgency as new innovations in the marijuana industry are being released daily; innovators want to make sure their ideas as being protected before they are misappropriated in other cannabis markets
It All Started with Hemp
While the news has mainly been focused on efforts to legalize marijuana, the efforts to gain more protection for cannabis intellectual property have also been in debate for some time. As research efforts continue in the hemp industry, the need for more certain intellectual property law as been going on for a while.
“In the United States, the door is open for hemp research,” says Frank Robison, Esq., senior associate at Vicente Sederberg LLC. “While there is debate about scope of permissible activities, the hemp industry should protect its technology.”
Many different research programs are being carried out by partners such as universities. With this, many patents are being issued with regards to claiming a number of aspects of cannabis. On the bright side, the US does remain the safest country in regards to protecting intellectual property for marijuana related issues.
“Getting patents issued for certain categories of technologies is challenging, particularly without data,” Robison says. “Obtaining cannabis research data is more difficult in the United States than countries with more liberal policies. But in the United States, hemp presents an opportunity for innovation, generating data and a clear basis to patent technology.”
Even with the concerns of obtaining cannabis related patents, companies still continue to move forward with innovating. This is extremely visible in the medical marijuana industry where companies continue to strive to develop safer ways to administer the medicine.
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