Bronze Plaques

Across from the Federal courthouse, and my house, the Department of Commerce, Patent & Trademark Office, has decreed its own stately pleasure dome. An army of construction workers, once the largest east of the Mississippi, transformed an open field into a vast complex - a central tower with a 14 story glass atrium, 4 outbuildings, and 2 humongous parking garages.

Outside of business hours, I find the formal garden at the heart of the complex deserted. I go to sit on a bench and notice a bronze plaque in front of it. I bend down to read. Does the plaque honor some departed Lord of Commerce for long and faithful service? No, it honors the bench:

Plainwell Bench
Designer/Inventor: Robert G. Chipman
U.S. Patent No.: D419,341
Date issued: January 25, 2000

Intrigued, I go in search of more plaques. I don't have to go far. Instead of a statue, the fountain in front of Mr. Chipman's bench has a:

Geodesic Dome
Designer/Inventor: Richard Buckminster Fuller
U.S. Patent No.: 2,682,235
Date issued: June 29, 1954

So Bucky's first name was Richard - who knew? Surely that patent can't still be valid. I seem to remember from my Intellectual Property course that a patent is only good for 18 years, with an 18 year renewal.

On the other side of the fountain, a young sappling is identified as:

Ulmus Americana
"Independence" Elm
Designer/Inventor: Eugene B. Smalley
U.S. Patent No.: PP6,227
Date issued: July 19, 1988

Two smaller plants are also singled out for notice:

Lavandula Agustifolia
"Blue Cushion"
Designer/Inventor: Joan L. Schofield
U.S. Patent No.: PP9,119
Date issued: April 25, 1995

Campanula Persicifolia
"Chettle Charm"
Designer/Inventor: Janet E. Bourke
U.S. Patent No.: PP9,815
Date issued: March 9, 1997

You can patent a plant? I guess I knew that, but I'd forgotten. I'm unsettled by the idea that you can own a living thing, but I can see an up side. Having memorialized these plants in bronze, surely the Lords of Commerce have taken on a duty of care. Surely now they will feel obligated to protect Ulmus Americana from Dutch Elm Disease; to see that Chettle Charm doesn't die of thirst.

This place has a lot more character than you'd expect from a government building. I'm glad I got to know my neighbor.