
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC2401]

 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
                  CHAPTER 57--PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
 
  SUBCHAPTER II--PROTECTABILITY OF PLANT VARIETIES AND CERTIFICATES OF 
                               PROTECTION
 
                Part D--Protectability of Plant Varieties
 
Sec. 2401. Definitions and rules of construction


(a) Definitions

    As used in this chapter:

                           (1) Basic seed

        The term ``basic seed'' means the seed planted to produce 
    certified or commercial seed.

                             (2) Breeder

        The term ``breeder'' means the person who directs the final 
    breeding creating a variety or who discovers and develops a variety. 
    If the actions are conducted by an agent on behalf of a principal, 
    the principal, rather than the agent, shall be considered the 
    breeder. The term does not include a person who redevelops or 
    rediscovers a variety the existence of which is publicly known or a 
    matter of common knowledge.

                   (3) Essentially derived variety

        (A) In general

            The term ``essentially derived variety'' means a variety 
        that--
                (i) is predominantly derived from another variety 
            (referred to in this paragraph as the ``initial variety'') 
            or from a variety that is predominantly derived from the 
            initial variety, while retaining the expression of the 
            essential characteristics that result from the genotype or 
            combination of genotypes of the initial variety;
                (ii) is clearly distinguishable from the initial 
            variety; and
                (iii) except for differences that result from the act of 
            derivation, conforms to the initial variety in the 
            expression of the essential characteristics that result from 
            the genotype or combination of genotypes of the initial 
            variety.

        (B) Methods

            An essentially derived variety may be obtained by the 
        selection of a natural or induced mutant or of a somaclonal 
        variant, the selection of a variant individual from plants of 
        the initial variety, backcrossing, transformation by genetic 
        engineering, or other method.

                              (4) Kind

        The term ``kind'' means one or more related species or 
    subspecies singly or collectively known by one common name, such as 
    soybean, flax, or radish.

                              (5) Seed

        The term ``seed'', with respect to a tuber propagated variety, 
    means the tuber or the part of the tuber used for propagation.

                       (6) Sexually reproduced

        The term ``sexually reproduced'' includes any production of a 
    variety by seed, but does not include the production of a variety by 
    tuber propagation.

                        (7) Tuber propagated

        The term ``tuber propagated'' means propagated by a tuber or a 
    part of a tuber.

                          (8) United States

        The terms ``United States'' and ``this country'' mean the United 
    States, the territories and possessions of the United States, and 
    the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

                             (9) Variety

        The term ``variety'' means a plant grouping within a single 
    botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, that, without regard to 
    whether the conditions for plant variety protection are fully met, 
    can be defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting 
    from a given genotype or combination of genotypes, distinguished 
    from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one 
    characteristic and considered as a unit with regard to the 
    suitability of the plant grouping for being propagated unchanged. A 
    variety may be represented by seed, transplants, plants, tubers, 
    tissue culture plantlets, and other matter.

(b) Rules of construction

    For the purposes of this chapter:

        (1) Sale or disposition for nonreproductive purposes

        The sale or disposition, for other than reproductive purposes, 
    of harvested material produced as a result of experimentation or 
    testing of a variety to ascertain the characteristics of the 
    variety, or as a by-product of increasing a variety, shall not be 
    considered to be a sale or disposition for purposes of exploitation 
    of the variety.

          (2) Sale or disposition for reproductive purposes

        The sale or disposition of a variety for reproductive purposes 
    shall not be considered to be a sale or disposition for the purposes 
    of exploitation of the variety if the sale or disposition is done as 
    an integral part of a program of experimentation or testing to 
    ascertain the characteristics of the variety, or to increase the 
    variety on behalf of the breeder or the successor in interest of the 
    breeder.

               (3) Sale or disposition of hybrid seed

        The sale or disposition of hybrid seed shall be considered to be 
    a sale or disposition of harvested material of the varieties from 
    which the seed was produced.

     (4) Application for protection or entering into a register 
                                of varieties

        The filing of an application for the protection or for the 
    entering of a variety in an official register of varieties, in any 
    country, shall be considered to render the variety a matter of 
    common knowledge from the date of the application, if the 
    application leads to the granting of protection or to the entering 
    of the variety in the official register of varieties, as the case 
    may be.

                          (5) Distinctness

        The distinctness of one variety from another may be based on one 
    or more identifiable morphological, physiological, or other 
    characteristics (including any characteristics evidenced by 
    processing or product characteristics, such as milling and baking 
    characteristics in the case of wheat) with respect to which a 
    difference in genealogy may contribute evidence.

                    (6) Publicly known varieties

        (A) In general

            A variety that is adequately described by a publication 
        reasonably considered to be a part of the public technical 
        knowledge in the United States shall be considered to be 
        publicly known and a matter of common knowledge.

        (B) Description

            A description that meets the requirements of subparagraph 
        (A) shall include a disclosure of the principal characteristics 
        by which a variety is distinguished.

        (C) Other means

            A variety may become publicly known and a matter of common 
        knowledge by other means.

(Pub. L. 91-577, title II, Sec. 41, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1546; Pub. 
L. 103-349, Sec. 2, Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3136.)


                               Amendments

    1994--Pub. L. 103-349 amended section generally, substituting 
provisions consisting of subsecs. (a) and (b) for former provisions 
consisting of subsecs. (a) to (j).


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Section 15 of Pub. L. 103-349 provided that: ``This Act [amending 
this section and sections 2327, 2330, 2353, 2354, 2357, 2402, 2404, 
2422, 2423, 2424, 2425, 2442, 2461, 2462, 2463, 2482, 2483, 2486, 2501, 
2504, 2532, 2541, 2542, 2543, 2561, 2566, 2567, 2568, and 2570 of this 
title, repealing sections 2463, 2502 and 2503 of this title, and 
enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 2321 
of this title] and the amendments made by this Act shall become 
effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 6, 
1994].''


               Transitional Provisions for 1994 Amendment

    Section 14 of Pub. L. 103-349 provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in this section, any variety 
for which a certificate of plant variety protection has been issued 
prior to the effective date of this Act [see Effective Date of 1994 
Amendment note above], and any variety for which an application is 
pending on the effective date of this Act, shall continue to be governed 
by the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.), as in 
effect on the day before the effective date of this Act.
    ``(b) Applications Refiled.--
        ``(1) In general.--An applicant may refile a pending application 
    on or after the effective date of this Act [see Effective Date of 
    1994 Amendment note above].
        ``(2) Effect of refiling.--If a pending application is refiled 
    on or after the effective date of this Act--
            ``(A) eligibility for protection and the terms of protection 
        shall be governed by the Plant Variety Protection Act [7 U.S.C. 
        2321 et seq.], as amended by this Act; and
            ``(B) for purposes of section 42 of the Plant Variety 
        Protection Act [7 U.S.C. 2402], as amended by section 3 of this 
        Act, the date of filing shall be the date of filing of the 
        original application.
    ``(c) Labeling.--
        ``(1) In general.--To obtain the protection provided to an owner 
    of a protected variety under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 
    U.S.C. 2321 et seq.) (as amended by this Act), a notice given by an 
    owner concerning the variety under section 127 of the Plant Variety 
    Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2567) shall state that the variety is 
    protected under such Act (as amended by this Act).
        ``(2) Sanctions.--Any person that makes a false or misleading 
    statement or claim, or uses a false or misleading label, concerning 
    protection described in paragraph (1) shall be subject to the 
    sanctions described in section 128 of the Plant Variety Protection 
    Act (7 U.S.C. 2568).''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 35 section 201.
