Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, it shall be an infringement of the rights of the owner of a protected variety to perform without authority, any of the following acts in the United States, or in commerce which can be regulated by Congress or affecting such commerce, prior to expiration of the right to plant variety protection but after either the issue of the certificate or the distribution of a protected plant variety with the notice under section 2567 of this title:
This section shall apply equally to-
It shall not be an infringement of the rights of the owner of a variety to perform any act concerning propagating material of any kind, or harvested material, including entire plants and parts of plants, of a protected variety that is sold or otherwise marketed with the consent of the owner in the United States, unless the act involves further propagation of the variety or involves an export of material of the variety, that enables the propagation of the variety, into a country that does not protect varieties of the plant genus or species to which the variety belongs, unless the exported material is for final consumption purposes.
It shall not be an infringement of the rights of the owner of a variety to perform any act done privately and for noncommercial purposes.
As used in this section, the term "perform without authority" includes performance without authority by any State, any instrumentality of a State, and any officer or employee of a State or instrumentality of a State acting in the official capacity of the officer or employee. Any State, and any such instrumentality, officer, or employee, shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter in the same manner and to the same extent as any nongovernmental entity.
7 U.S.C. § 2541
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe effective date of this provision, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), probably means the effective date of subsec. (b)(3), which was added by Pub. L. 103-349 effective 180 days after Oct. 6, 1994. See Effective Date of 1994 Amendment note set out under section 2401 of this title.The Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is Pub. L. 103-349, 108 Stat. 3136. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1994 Amendment note set out under section 2321 of this title and Tables.
AMENDMENTS2018-Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 115-334 inserted "or asexually" after "sexually". 1994-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(A), substituted "protected" for "novel" in two places in introductory provisions. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(B), substituted "or market the protected" for "the novel". Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(C), struck out "novel" before "variety".Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(C)-(E), inserted ",or propagate by a tuber or a part of a tuber," after "multiply", struck out "novel" before "variety", and struck out "or" at end.Subsec. (a)(4) to (6). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(C), (E), struck out "novel" before "variety" and struck out "or" at end.Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(G), added par. (7). Former par. (7) redesignated (9). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(C), struck out "novel" before "variety".Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(G), added par. (8). Former par. (8) redesignated (10).Subsec. (a)(9), (10). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(1)(F), redesignated pars. (7) and (8) as (9) and (10), respectively. Subsecs. (b) to (e). Pub. L. 103-349, §9(3), added subsecs. (b) to (e). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (f).Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103-349, §§9(2), 13, redesignated subsec. (b) as (f) and in first sentence substituted "the official capacity of the officer or employee" for "his official capacity". 1992- Pub. L. 102-560 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). 1980-Par. (5). Pub. L. 96-574 substituted "'Unauthorized Propagation Prohibited' or 'Unauthorized Seed Multiplication Prohibited'" for "'propagation prohibited'".
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 103-349 effective 180 days after Oct. 6, 1994, see section 15 of Pub. L. 103-349 set out as a note under section 2401 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 102-560, §4, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4232, provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [enacting section 2570 of this title and section 296 of Title 35, Patents, and amending this section and section 271 of Title 35] shall take effect with respect to violations that occur on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 28, 1992]."