I am also saddened to hear that the ability to purchase and grow this cherry tree has been lost to the general public. I had seen the term “club apple” used on the forum many times but had never understood what people were meaning. After performing some research I understand the why of some people keeping the fruit that they develop restricted (ultimately it seems that money is the largest motivator), although I wish that the earnings from patents was satisfactory to them.
Do we have anyone well-versed in the “club fruit” who can explain it further? Using the plant patent finder that @Olpea shared with us
I was able to determine that the cherry tree was patented
but I don’t understand whether it is the patent holder that places the variety into protected status as a club fruit, or whether someone else has that authority. I would also like to better understand the legality of what seems to effectively be extending the 20 year patent term indefinitely.