Carol, second that idea! I would definitely buy a second tomato book by Dr. Carolyn (I managed to get a copy of the first). And a horticultural escapade book would be good, too. For instance, there was a Callery pear tree that was patented and propagated by an Ohio nursery. Only problem was, they didn't own the original tree, as they were supposed to. So, someone else propagated from the same tree and gave it another name.
There are lots of instances of patents being granted for ineligible plants because the Plant Patent Office was hopelessly understaffed - as in, one person reviewed all of them back in the 80's. The only criterion he used was whether or not there was an identical-appearing cultivar of that kind already patented. I'm talking about actual plant patents, not Plant Variety Protection.
This year is the first time I've noticed "Utility Patents" being noted in seed catalogs for things like certain lettuce seeds. I thought maybe they were GMOs, but there was no indication of that. I found an essay by Frank Morton which pretty much gives the history and legal rationale as supported by the courts so far. Very frustrating to know this is happening!
http://www.wildgardenseed.com/articl...mon-vegetables
P.S. Thanks for the replies about the anthocyanin/blue tomato history!