Although a cool-season seeded fine fescue is not likely to be confused with a warm- season vegetatively propagated seashore paspalum, Pure Seed had protected the
variety name ‘Seabreeze GT’ under PVP prior to the University of Georgia acquiring name protection under trademark. And as the two databases don’t cross-pollinate, (pardon the pun), the naming conflict was missed.
Luckily, the team at Pure Seed and the turfgrass breeders at UGA have had a long-standing collaborative relationship. “Pure Seed values its long-standing partnership with the University of Georgia, and their history of successful collaboration on numerous variety developments. While we recognize the importance of distinct product names for effective marketing, we believe that open dialogue and cooperation are essential to resolving any naming conflicts,” said Crystal Rose- Fricker, president of Pure Seed and Pure-Seed Testing Inc. Her father, Bill Rose, founded the companies. She has developed 322 turf and forage grass cultivars, so she is well aware of the perils of variety naming.
When it was brought to his attention, Dr. Paul Raymer, who developed the new paspalum grass at UGA, immediately agreed to change the name. University staff weighed many combinations of words with the “Sea” prefix, searched all the databases for possible conflicts, and settled on SeaScape™ as the new name for the University’s fifth seashore paspalum release.
“SeaScape™ was an excellent alternative name for our new grass variety,” said Dr. Raymer. “It contains the word ‘Sea’ and by adding ‘Scape’ as the suffix, it makes you think of the word ‘landscape.’ As SeaScape is ideal for use on golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns, and other recreational venues, it was a perfect solution, and everything turned out just fine.”
Logistically, changing the name to SeaScape™ meant the logo and text had to be changed on all marketing materials and on the
gapaspalum.com website. Overall, the process went smoothly, and all parties involved were relieved to have the situation resolved amicably.
SeaScape™ is produced in the Southeastern United States and is currently available for sale now. European production is expected to be ready for sale in 2025. For more information on SeaScape™, visit
gapaspalum.com.
Stacie Zinn Roberts is the founder, writer, and marketing strategist for the marketing and public relations firm What's Your Avocado? The company’s tagline is “B-to-B Marketing Experts.”
TPI Turf News March/April 2025
33
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