Of course, UGA is but one of many universities who invest heavily in turfgrass research which is often funded by external grants from any number of organizations, agencies or foundations. Dr. Paul Raymer, professor plant breeding and ge- nomics, who directs the turfgrass breeding and genetics research pro- gram at the UGA Griffin Campus, has stated that turfgrass breeding programs often work closely with scientists from a range of disci- plines including stress physiology, weed science, plant pathology, ento- mology, and molecular genetics.

Raymer said, “From my perspective, pirating hurts the entire turf industry. The consumer loses because a pirated grass likely does not have all the at- tributes that the breeder spent years working to get into a single cultivar. The licensee loses because although he paid for a license to sell that grass,

someone stole that right from him. Certainly the company/breeder loses vital support necessary to produce the next ‘best ever’ cultivar.”

There are a good number of orga- nizations, associations and gov- ernment agencies in addition to universities that are in the mix, including but certainly not limited to the USGA (United States Golf Association), GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Association of America), EPA (Environmental Pro- tection Agency), and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), along with private companies and countless others who invest heav- ily in developing new grasses and rely on “licensed producers” who are selected in part because of their reputation, product quality and customer service.

In addition to providing their li- censees with reliable products, they also provide educational, market- ing, public relations and advertising support. The investment in time and energy is huge, but such efforts result in developing licensed and certified turfgrasses that provide sports field managers, golf course su- perintendents, landscape architects, contractors and homeowners with a wide assortment of the finest turf- grasses in the marketplace. Products they can rely on and turfgrasses that meet exceptional quality standards.

The cost to undertake such research programs is substantial and the return, if any, through trial and error, can take years if not decades to recover the initial investment. For these many reasons, turfgrass pirates—individuals and companies who misrepresent a product or mislead the buyer, or who market exclusive cultivars without proper authorization, or who pass off less desirable products as licensed brands—aren’t just cheating the indi- viduals and companies who invested

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in developing the product, they are also misleading and cheating the end-user. They are cheating all of us and the industry we represent.

Tobey Wagner, president of Sod Solutions, has a great deal to say about the subject and is passionate when asked about piracy and its consequences. “Piracy discourages innovation, and it’s innovation that not only drives our industry, it drives all industries. Everyone in the green industry, and especially those who rely on the integrity of prod- ucts that are developed, grown, and beneficial to the end-user, should support companies that strive to be innovative. Piracy on any level or on any degree should not be tolerated. Piracy is stealing, it’s unethical, and it’s important that the turfgrass industry work together to project a professional image and not toler- ate dishonesty in any aspect of our business. It’s important that growers be united with respect to integrity and sustainability of the turfgrass industry and anything we can do to discourage piracy benefits all of us—

from the customers we serve to the industry we represent.”

Christian H. Broucqsault, Sod Solu- tions’ vice president, marketing, expressed his thoughts on the issue of piracy as follows: “As long as there are unscrupulous people out there, piracy will be a problem, and the problems caused by pirates af- fect many people. In a never ending cycle, the parties harmed range from the end-user to the licensed sod farm to the patent and trademark holder to the entire research and development community and back again to the end user. Pirates cause a lose-lose situation for everyone.”

David Doguet of Bladerunner Farms commented, “Piracy is a problem and it will only get worse as more licensed grasses become available.”

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