**(a) In general** The breeder of any sexually reproduced, tuber propagated, or asexually reproduced plant variety (other than fungi or bacteria) who has so reproduced the variety, or the successor in interest of the breeder, shall be entitled to plant variety protection for the variety, subject to the conditions and requirements of this chapter, if the variety is—
(1) new, in the sense that, on the date of filing of the application for plant variety protection, propagating or harvested material of the variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed of to other persons, by or with the consent of the breeder, or the successor in interest of the breeder, for purposes of exploitation of the variety—
(A) in the United States, more than 1 year prior to the date of filing; or
(B) in any area outside of the United States—
(i) more than 4 years prior to the date of filing, except that in the case of a tuber propagated plant variety the Secretary may waive the 4-year limitation for a period ending 1 year after April 4, 1996; or
(ii) in the case of a tree or vine, more than 6 years prior to the date of filing;
(2) distinct, in the sense that the variety is clearly distinguishable from any other variety the existence of which is publicly known or a matter of common knowledge at the time of the filing of the application;
(3) uniform, in the sense that any variations are describable, predictable, and commercially acceptable; and
(4) stable, in the sense that the variety, when reproduced, will remain unchanged with regard to the essential and distinctive characteristics of the variety with a reasonable degree of reliability commensurate with that of varieties of the same category in which the same breeding method is employed.
**(b) Multiple applicants**
(1) **In
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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_93d4e6159844316c8338e7ad Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-7/section-2402-right-to-plant-variety-protection-plant-varieties-protectable--b6c0915efe.md Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded Passage SHA-256: 02492e2fc9881071f991436a52e97170177c504cc3b3f209153339dfa3be021a Retained source evidence SHA-256: 7f3161c923719d714526c87400d086890751f4a43d59feb34c872d4d9261c447
Source location: Title 7, Chapter 57, § 2402; chapter-057-plant-variety-protection.md
Stored source content
**(a) In general** The breeder of any sexually reproduced, tuber propagated, or asexually reproduced plant variety (other than fungi or bacteria) who has so reproduced the variety, or the successor in interest of the breeder, shall be entitled to plant variety protection for the variety, subject to the conditions and requirements of this chapter, if the variety is—
(1) new, in the sense that, on the date of filing of the application for plant variety protection, propagating or harvested material of the variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed of to other persons, by or with the consent of the breeder, or the successor in interest of the breeder, for purposes of exploitation of the variety—
(A) in the United States, more than 1 year prior to the date of filing; or
(B) in any area outside of the United States—
(i) more than 4 years prior to the date of filing, except that in the case of a tuber propagated plant variety the Secretary may waive the 4-year limitation for a period ending 1 year after April 4, 1996; or
(ii) in the case of a tree or vine, more than 6 years prior to the date of filing;
(2) distinct, in the sense that the variety is clearly distinguishable from any other variety the existence of which is publicly known or a matter of common knowledge at the time of the filing of the application;
(3) uniform, in the sense that any variations are describable, predictable, and commercially acceptable; and
(4) stable, in the sense that the variety, when reproduced, will remain unchanged with regard to the essential and distinctive characteristics of the variety with a reasonable degree of reliability commensurate with that of varieties of the same category in which the same breeding method is employed.
**(b) Multiple applicants**
(1) **In general** — If 2 or more applicants submit applications on the same effective filing date for varieties that cannot be clearly distinguished from one another, but that fulfill all other requirements of subsection (a), the applicant who first complies with all requirements of this chapter shall be entitled to a certificate of plant variety protection, to the exclusion of any other applicant.
(2) **Requirements completed on same date**
(A) *In general* — Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if 2 or more applicants comply with all requirements for protection on the same date, a certificate shall be issued for each variety.
(B) *Varieties indistinguishable* — If the varieties that are the subject of the applications cannot be distinguished in any manner, a single certificate shall be issued jointly to the applicants.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
§ 2402. Right to plant variety protection; plant
varieties protectable
(a) In general
The breeder of any sexually reproduced, tuber
propagated, or asexually reproduced plant vari-
ety (other than fungi or bacteria) who has so re-
produced the variety, or the successor in inter-
Page 1501
TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE
§ 2404
est of the breeder, shall be entitled to plant va-
riety protection for the variety, subject to the
conditions and requirements of this chapter, if
the variety is—
(1) new, in the sense that, on the date of fil-
ing of the application for plant variety protec-
tion, propagating or harvested material of the
variety has not been sold or otherwise dis-
posed of to other persons, by or with the con-
sent of the breeder, or the successor in inter-
est of the breeder, for purposes of exploitation
of the variety—
(A) in the United States, more than 1 year
prior to the date of filing; or
(B) in any area outside of the United
States—
(i) more than 4 years prior to the date of
filing, except that in the case of a tuber
propagated plant variety the Secretary
may waive the 4-year limitation for a pe-
riod ending 1 year after April 4, 1996; or
(ii) in the case of a tree or vine, more
than 6 years prior to the date of filing;
(2) distinct, in the sense that the variety is
clearly distinguishable from any other variety
the existence of which is publicly known or a
matter of common knowledge at the time of
the filing of the application;
(3) uniform, in the sense that any variations
are describable, predictable, and commercially
acceptable; and
(4) stable, in the sense that the variety,
when reproduced, will remain unchanged with
regard to the essential and distinctive charac-
teristics of the variety with a reasonable de-
gree of reliability commen