Union Calendar No. 381

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2927

[Report No. 103–699]

A BILL

To amend the Plant Variety Protection Act to

States is a signatory, and for other purposes.Plants of March 19, 1991, to which the UnitedConvention for the Protection of New Varieties ofmake such Act consistent with the International

AUGUST 12, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 381

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2927

[Report No. 103–699]

To amend the Plant Variety Protection Act to make such Act consistent

with the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties

of Plants of March 19, 1991, to which the United States is a signatory,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 6, 1994

Mr. DE LA GARZA (for himself, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. BROWN of California)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

Agriculture

AUGUST 12, 1994

Additional sponsors: Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. LIGHTFOOT, Mr.

JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. BAKER of California, Mr. UPTON, Mr.

BAESLER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. POSHARD,

Mr. GILLMOR, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. EWING, Mr.

LEWIS of Florida, Mr. GRANDY, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. SWIFT, Mr. FARR

of California, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. DOOLEY,

Mr. BARLOW, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. HOAGLAND, and Mrs. VUCANOVICH

AUGUST 12, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on August 6, 1993]
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A BILL

To amend the Plant Variety Protection Act to make such

Act consistent with the International Convention for the

Protection of New Varieties of Plants of March 19, 1991,

to which the United States is a signatory, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994’’.

6 (b) REFERENCES TO PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION

7 ACT.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

8 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

9 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

10 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

11 other provision of the Plant Variety Protection Act (7

12 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.).

13 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

14 Section 41 (7 U.S.C. 2401) is amended to read as fol15 lows:

16 ‘‘§ 41. Definitions and rules of construction

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act:

18 ‘‘(1) BASIC SEED.—The term ‘basic seed’ means

19 the seed planted to produce certified or commercial

20 seed.
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1 ‘‘(2) BREEDER.—The term ‘breeder’ means the

2 person who directs the final breeding creating a vari3 ety or who discovers and develops a variety. If the ac4 tions are conducted by an agent on behalf of a prin5 cipal, the principal, rather than the agent, shall be

6 considered the breeder. The term does not include a

7 person who redevelops or rediscovers a variety the ex8 istence of which is publicly known or a matter of

9 common knowledge.

10 ‘‘(3) ESSENTIALLY DERIVED VARIETY.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘essentially

12 derived variety’ means a variety that—

13 ‘‘(i) is predominantly derived from an14 other variety (referred to in this paragraph

15 as the ‘initial variety’) or from a variety

16 that is predominantly derived from the ini17 tial variety, while retaining the expression

18 of the essential characteristics that result

19 from the genotype or combination of

20 genotypes of the initial variety;

21 ‘‘(ii) is clearly distinguishable from the

22 initial variety; and

23 ‘‘(iii) except for differences that result

24 from the act of derivation, conforms to the

25 initial variety in the expression of the es-
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1 sential characteristics that result from the

2 genotype or combination of genotypes of the

3 initial variety.

4 ‘‘(B) METHODS.—An essentially derived va5 riety may be obtained by the selection of a natu6 ral or induced mutant or of a somaclonal vari7 ant, the selection of a variant individual from

8 plants of the initial variety, backcrossing, trans9 formation by genetic engineering, or other meth10 od.

11 ‘‘(4) KIND.—The term ‘kind’ means one or more

12 related species or subspecies singly or collectively

13 known by one common name, such as soybean, flax,

14 or radish.

15 ‘‘(5) SEED.—The term ‘seed’, with respect to a

16 tuber propagated variety, means the tuber or the part

17 of the tuber used for propagation.

18 ‘‘(6) SEXUALLY REPRODUCED.—The term ‘sexu19 ally reproduced’ includes any production of a variety

20 by seed, but does not include the production of a vari21 ety by tuber propagation.

22 ‘‘(7) TUBER PROPAGATED.—The term ‘tuber

23 propagated’ means propagated by a tuber or a part

24 of a tuber.
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1 ‘‘(8) UNITED STATES.—The terms ‘United

2 States’ and ‘this country’ mean the United States, the

3 territories and possessions of the the United States,

4 and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

5 ‘‘(9) VARIETY.—The term ‘variety’ means a

6 plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the

7 lowest known rank, that, without regard to whether

8 the conditions for plant variety protection are fully

9 met, can be defined by the expression of the character10 istics resulting from a given genotype or combination

11 of genotypes, distinguished from any other plant

12 grouping by the expression of at least one characteris13 tic and considered as a unit with regard to the suit14 ability of the plant grouping for being propagated un15 changed. A variety may be represented by seed, trans16 plants, plants, tubers, tissue culture plantlets, and

17 other matter.

18 ‘‘(b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—For the purposes of

19 this Act:

20 ‘‘(1) SALE OR DISPOSITION FOR

21 NONREPRODUCTIVE PURPOSES.—The sale or disposi22 tion, for other than reproductive purposes, of har23 vested material produced as a result of experimen24 tation or testing of a variety to ascertain the charac25 teristics of the variety, or as a by-product of increas-
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1 ing a variety, shall not be considered to be a sale or

2 disposition for purposes of exploitation of the variety.

3 ‘‘(2) SALE OR DISPOSITION FOR REPRODUCTIVE

4 PURPOSES.—The sale or disposition of a variety for

5 reproductive purposes shall not be considered to be a

6 sale or disposition for the purposes of exploitation of

7 the variety if the sale or disposition is done as an in8 tegral part of a program of experimentation or test9 ing to ascertain the characteristics of the variety, or

10 to increase the variety on behalf of the breeder or the

11 successor in interest of the breeder.

12 ‘‘(3) SALE OR DISPOSITION OF HYBRID SEED.—

13 The sale or disposition of hybrid seed shall be consid14 ered to be a sale or disposition of harvested material

15 of the varieties from which the seed was produced.

16 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION FOR PROTECTION OR ENTER17 ING INTO A REGISTER OF VARIETIES.—The filing of

18 an application for the protection or for the entering

19 of a variety in an official register of varieties, in any

20 country, shall be considered to render the variety a

21 matter of common knowledge from the date of the ap22 plication, if the application leads to the granting of

23 protection or to the entering of the variety in the offi24 cial register of varieties, as the case may be.
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1 ‘‘(5) DISTINCTNESS.—The distinctness of one va2 riety from another may be based on one or more iden3 tifiable morphological, physiological, or other charac4 teristics (including any characteristics evidenced by

5 processing or product characteristics, such as milling

6 and baking characteristics in the case of wheat) with

7 respect to which a difference in genealogy may con8 tribute evidence.

9 ‘‘(6) PUBLICLY KNOWN VARIETIES.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A variety that is ade11 quately described by a publication reasonably

12 considered to be a part of the public technical

13 knowledge in the United States shall be consid14 ered to be publicly known and a matter of com15 mon knowledge.

16 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION.—A description that

17 meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) shall

18 include a disclosure of the principal characteris19 tics by which a variety is distinguished.

20 ‘‘(C) OTHER MEANS.—A variety may be21 come publicly known and a matter of common

22 knowledge by other means.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. RIGHT TO PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION; PLANT VA2 RIETIES PROTECTABLE.

3 Section 42 (7 U.S.C. 2402) is amended to read as fol4 lows:

5 ‘‘§ 42. Right to plant variety protection; plant varieties

6 protectable

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The breeder of any sexually repro8 duced or tuber propagated plant variety (other than fungi

9 or bacteria) who has so reproduced the variety, or the suc10 cessor in interest of the breeder, shall be entitled to plant

11 variety protection for the variety, subject to the conditions

12 and requirements of this Act, if the variety is—

13 ‘‘(1) new, in the sense that, on the date of filing

14 of the application for plant variety protection, propa15 gating or harvested material of the variety has not

16 been sold or otherwise disposed of to other persons, by

17 or with the consent of the breeder, or the successor in

18 interest of the breeder, for purposes of exploitation of

19 the variety—

20 ‘‘(A) in the United States, more than 1 year

21 prior to the date of filing; or

22 ‘‘(B) in any area outside of the United

23 States—

24 ‘‘(i) more than 4 years prior to the

25 date of filing; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a tree or vine, more

2 than 6 years prior to the date of filing;

3 ‘‘(2) distinct, in the sense that the variety is

4 clearly distinguishable from any other variety the ex5 istence of which is publicly known or a matter of

6 common knowledge at the time of the filing of the ap7 plication;

8 ‘‘(3) uniform, in the sense that any variations

9 are describable, predictable, and commercially accept10 able; and

11 ‘‘(4) stable, in the sense that the variety, when

12 reproduced, will remain unchanged with regard to the

13 essential and distinctive characteristics of the variety

14 with a reasonable degree of reliability commensurate

15 with that of varieties of the same category in which

16 the same breeding method is employed.

17 ‘‘(b) MULTIPLE APPLICANTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If 2 or more applicants sub19 mit applications on the same effective filing date for

20 varieties that cannot be clearly distinguished from

21 one another, but that fulfill all other requirements of

22 subsection (a), the applicant who first complies with

23 all requirements of this Act shall be entitled to a cer24 tificate of plant variety protection, to the exclusion of

25 any other applicant.
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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS COMPLETED ON SAME

2 DATE.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

4 subparagraph (B), if 2 or more applicants com5 ply with all requirements for protection on the

6 same date, a certificate shall be issued for each

7 variety.

8 ‘‘(B) VARIETIES INDISTINGUISHABLE.—If

9 the varieties that are the subject of the applica10 tions cannot be distinguished in any manner, a

11 single certificate shall be issued jointly to the ap12 plicants.’’.

13 SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.

14 Section 52 (7 U.S.C. 2422) is amended—

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the

16 following new sentence: ‘‘The variety shall be named

17 in accordance with regulations issued by the Sec18 retary.’’;

19 (2) in the first sentence of paragraph (2), by

20 striking ‘‘novelty’’ and inserting ‘‘distinctiveness, uni21 formity, and stability’’;

22 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as

23 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively;

24 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow25 ing new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(3) A statement of the basis of the claim of the

2 applicant that the variety is new.’’; and

3 (5) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para4 graph (3)), by inserting ‘‘(including any propagating

5 material)’’ after ‘‘basic seed’’.

6 SEC. 5. BENEFIT OF EARLIER FILING DATE.

7 Section 55(a) (7 U.S.C. 2425(a)) is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating the first and second sen9 tences as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;

10 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by

11 inserting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘,

12 not including the date on which the application is

13 filed in the foreign country’’; and

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new para15 graph:

16 ‘‘(3)(A) An applicant entitled to a right of prior17 ity under this subsection shall be allowed to furnish

18 any necessary information, document, or material re19 quired for the purpose of the examination of the ap20 plication during—

21 ‘‘(i) the 2-year period beginning on the date

22 of the expiration of the period of priority; or

23 ‘‘(ii) if the first application is rejected or

24 withdrawn, an appropriate period after the re-
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1 jection or withdrawal, to be determined by the

2 Secretary.

3 ‘‘(B) An event occurring within the period of

4 priority (such as the filing of another application or

5 use of the variety that is the subject of the first appli6 cation) shall not constitute a ground for rejecting the

7 application or give rise to any third party right.’’.

8 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF REFUSAL; RECONSIDERATION.

9 The first sentence of section 62(b) (7 U.S.C. 2442(b))

10 is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘six months’’ and inserting ‘‘at

12 least 30 days, and not more than 180 days’’; and

13 (2) by striking ‘‘in exceptional circumstances’’.

14 SEC. 7. CONTENTS AND TERM OF PLANT VARIETY PROTEC15 TION.

16 Section 83 (7 U.S.C. 2483) is amended—

17 (1) in subsection (a)—

18 (A) by designating the first through fourth

19 sentences as paragraphs (1) through (4), respec20 tively; and

21 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) (as

22 so designated) and inserting the following new

23 paragraphs:

24 ‘‘(2) If the owner so elects, the certificate shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) specify that seed of the variety shall be

2 sold in the United States only as a class of cer3 tified seed; and

4 ‘‘(B) if so specified, conform to the number

5 of generations designated by the owner.

6 ‘‘(3) An owner may waive a right provided

7 under this subsection, other than a right that is elect8 ed by the owner under paragraph (2)(A).’’;

9 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (b)—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘eighteen’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘20’’; and

12 (B) by inserting before the period at the end

13 the following: ‘‘, except that, in the case of a tree

14 or vine, the term of the plant variety protection

15 shall expire 25 years from the date of issue of the

16 certificate’’; and

17 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘repository:

18 Provided, however, That’’ and inserting ‘‘repository,

19 or requiring the submission of a different name for

20 the variety, except that’’.

21 SEC. 8. PRIORITY CONTEST.

22 (a) PRIORITY CONTEST; EFFECT OF ADVERSE FINAL

23 JUDGMENT OR INACTION.—Sections 92 and 93 (7 U.S.C.

24 2502 and 2503) are repealed.

25 (b) INTERFERING PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION.—
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1 (1) REDESIGNATION.—Section 94 of the Act (7

2 U.S.C. 2504) is redesignated a section 92.

3 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Section 92 (as so redesig4 nated) is amended—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘The owner’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘(a) The owner’’; and

7 (B) by striking the second sentence.

8 (c) APPEAL OR CIVIL ACTION IN CONTESTED CASES.—

9 (1) TRANSFER.—Section 73 (7 U.S.C. 2463) is

10 amended by transferring subsection (b) to the end of

11 section 92 (as redesignated by subsection (b)(1)).

12 (2) REPEAL.—Section 73 (as amended by para13 graph (1)) is repealed.

14 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) Section 71 (7 U.S.C. 2461) is amended by

16 striking ‘‘92,’’.

17 (2) Section 102 (7 U.S.C. 2532) is amended by

18 inserting ‘‘or tuber propagable’’ after ‘‘sexually repro19 ducible’’ each place it appears.

20 SEC. 9. INFRINGEMENT OF PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION.

21 Section 111 (7 U.S.C. 2541) is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘novel’’ the first two places

24 it appears and inserting ‘‘protected’’;
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1 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the

2 novel’’ and inserting ‘‘or market the protected’’;

3 (C) by striking ‘‘novel’’ each place it ap4 pears in paragraphs (2) through (7);

5 (D) in paragraph (3), by inserting ’’, or

6 propagate by a tuber or a part of a tuber,’’ after

7 ‘‘sexually multiply’’;

8 (E) by striking ‘‘or’’ each place it appears

9 at the end of paragraphs (3) through (6);

10 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and

11 (8) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and

12 (G) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol13 lowing new paragraphs:

14 ‘‘(7) condition the variety for the purpose of

15 propagation, except to the extent that the conditioning

16 is related to the activities permitted under section

17 113;

18 ‘‘(8) stock the variety for any of the purposes re19 ferred to in paragraphs (1) through (7);’’;

20 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection

21 (f); and

22 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following

23 new subsections:

24 ‘‘(b)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the owner of a pro25 tected variety may authorize the use of the variety under
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1 this section subject to conditions and limitations specified

2 by the owner.

3 ‘‘(2) In the case of a contract between a seed producer

4 and the owner of a protected variety of lawn, turf, or forage

5 grass seed, or alfalfa or clover seed for the production of

6 seed of the protected variety, the producer shall be deemed

7 to be authorized by the owner to sell such seed and to use

8 the variety if—

9 ‘‘(A) the producer has fulfilled the terms of the

10 contract;

11 ‘‘(B) the owner refuses to take delivery of the seed

12 or refuses to pay any amounts due under the contract

13 within 30 days of the payment date specified in the

14 contract; and

15 ‘‘(C) after the expiration of the period specified

16 in subparagraph (B), the producer notifies the owner

17 of the producer’s intent to sell the seed and unless the

18 owner fails to pay the amounts due under the con19 tract and take delivery of the seed within 30 days of

20 such notification. For the purposes of this paragraph,

21 the term ‘owner’ shall include any licensee of the

22 owner.

23 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (2) shall apply to contracts entered

24 into with respect to plant varieties protected under this Act

25 (7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.) as in effect on the day before the
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1 effective date of this provision as well as plant varieties pro2 tected under this Act as amended by the Plant Variety Pro3 tection Act Amendments of 1994.

4 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall affect any other

5 rights or remedies of producers or owners that may exist

6 under other Federal or State laws.

7 ‘‘(c) This section shall apply equally to—

8 ‘‘(1) any variety that is essentially derived from

9 a protected variety, unless the protected variety is an

10 essentially derived variety;

11 ‘‘(2) any variety that is not clearly distinguish12 able from a protected variety;

13 ‘‘(3) any variety whose production requires the

14 repeated use of a protected variety; and

15 ‘‘(4) harvested material (including entire plants

16 and parts of plants) obtained through the unauthor17 ized use of propagating material of a protected vari18 ety, unless the owner of the variety has had a reason19 able opportunity to exercise the rights provided under

20 this Act with respect to the propagating material.

21 ‘‘(d) It shall not be an infringement of the rights of

22 the owner of a variety to perform any act concerning propa23 gating material of any kind, or harvested material, includ24 ing entire plants and parts of plants, of a protected variety

25 that is sold or otherwise marketed with the consent of the
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1 owner in the United States, unless the act involves further

2 propagation of the variety or involves an export of material

3 of the variety, that enables the propagation of the variety,

4 into a country that does not protect varieties of the plant

5 genus or species to which the variety belongs, unless the ex6 ported material is for final consumption purposes.

7 ‘‘(e) It shall not be an infringement of the rights of

8 the owner of a variety to perform any act done privately

9 and for noncommercial purposes.’’.

10 SEC. 10. RIGHT TO SAVE SEED; CROP EXEMPTION.

11 The first sentence of section 113 (7 U.S.C. 2543) is

12 amended by striking ‘‘section: Provided, That’’ and all that

13 follows through the period and inserting ‘‘section.’’.

14 SEC. 11. LIMITATION OF DAMAGES; MARKING AND NOTICE.

15 Section 127 (7 U.S.C. 2567) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘novel’’ each place it appears.

17 SEC. 12. OBLIGATION TO USE VARIETY NAME.

18 Section 128(a) (7 U.S.C. 2568(a)) is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘or tubers or parts of tubers’’

20 after ‘‘plant material’’; and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new para22 graph:

23 ‘‘(4) Failure to use the name of a variety for

24 which a certificate of protection has been issued under

25 this Act, even after the expiration of the certificate,
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1 except that lawn, turf, or forage grass seed, or alfalfa

2 or clover seed may be sold without a variety name

3 unless use of the name of a variety for which a certifi4 cate of protection has been issued under this Act is re5 quired under State law.’’.

6 SEC. 13. ELIMINATION OF GENDER-BASED REFERENCES.

7 (a) The last sentence of section 7(a) (7 U.S.C. 2327(a))

8 is amended by striking ‘‘his designee shall act as chairman’’

9 and inserting ‘‘the designee of the Secretary shall act as

10 chairperson’’.

11 (b) Section 10(a) (7 U.S.C. 2330(a)) is amended by

12 striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’.

13 (c) Section 23 (7 U.S.C. 2353) is amended—

14 (1) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘he’’ and

15 inserting ‘‘the officer’’; and

16 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘he’’ and

17 inserting ‘‘the person’’.

18 (d) Section 24 (7 U.S.C. 2354) is amended—

19 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by

20 striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘the witness’’; and

21 (2) in the second sentence of subsection (c)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘his fees and traveling ex23 penses’’ and inserting ‘‘the fees and traveling ex24 penses of the witness’’; and
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘the

2 witness’’.

3 (e) The last sentence of section 27 (7 U.S.C. 2357) is

4 amended by striking ‘‘he’’ each place it appears and insert5 ing ‘‘the person’’.

6 (f) The first sentence of section 44 (7 U.S.C. 2404) is

7 amended by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’.

8 (g) Section 53 (7 U.S.C. 2423) is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘one (or his

10 successor)’’ and inserting ‘‘one person person (or the

11 successor of the person)’’; and

12 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘he’’ and in13 serting ‘‘the Secretary’’.

14 (h) Section 54 (7 U.S.C. 2424) is amended by striking

15 ‘‘his successor in interest’’ and insert ‘‘the successor in in16 terest of the breeder’’.

17 (i) Section 55 (7 U.S.C. 2425) is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a)(2) (as redesignated by sec19 tion 5(1)), by striking ‘‘his application’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘the application filed in the United States’’; and

21 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘his predecessor

22 in title’’ and inserting ‘‘the predecessor in title of the

23 person’’.

24 (j) The first sentence of section 62(b) (7 U.S.C.

25 2442(b)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘an appli2 cant’’;

3 (2) by striking ‘‘an applicant shall’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘the applicant shall’’; and

5 (3) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec6 retary’’.

7 (k) The second sentence of section 72 (7 U.S.C. 2462)

8 is amended by striking ‘‘his variety as specified in his ap9 plication’’ and inserting ‘‘the variety as specified in the ap10 plication’’.

11 (l) Section 82 (7 U.S.C. 2482) is amended by striking

12 ‘‘his signature’’ and inserting ‘‘the signature of the Sec13 retary’’.

14 (m) Section 83 (7 U.S.C. 2483) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a) (as amended by section

16 7(1)(A))—

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(or his

18 successor in interest) his heirs and assignees’’

19 and inserting ‘‘(or the successor in interest of the

20 breeder)’’; and

21 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘his dis22 cretion’’ and inserting ‘‘the discretion of the Sec23 retary’’; and

24 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘he’’ and in25 serting ‘‘the last owner’’.
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1 (n) Section 86 (7 U.S.C. 2486) is amended—

2 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘him’’ and

3 inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’; and

4 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘he’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘the person’’.

6 (o) Section 91(c) (7 U.S.C. 2501(c)) is amended by

7 striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’.

8 (p) The fourth sentence of section 92(b) (as transferred

9 by section 8(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘he’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘the Secretary’’.

11 (q) The first sentence of section 111(f) (as redesignated

12 by section 9(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘his official capac13 ity’’ and inserting ‘‘the official capacity of the officer or

14 employee’’.

15 (r) Section 112 (7 U.S.C. 2542) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘his successor in interest’’ and inserting ‘‘the successor in

17 interest of the person’’.

18 (s) Section 113 (7 U.S.C. 2543) is amended—

19 (1) in the first sentence—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘the

21 person’’; and

22 (B) by striking ‘‘his farm’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘the farm of the person’’; and

24 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘his ac25 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘the actions of the purchaser’’.
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1 (t) Section 121 (7 U.S.C. 2561) is amended by striking

2 ‘‘his’’.

3 (u) Section 126(b) (7 U.S.C. 2566(b)) is amended by

4 striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the’’.

5 (v) Section 128(a) (7 U.S.C. 2568(a)) is amended by

6 striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’.

7 (w) Section 130(a) (7 U.S.C. 2570(a)) is amended by

8 striking ‘‘his official capacity’’ and inserting ‘‘the official

9 capacity of the officer or employee’’.

10 SEC. 14. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this section,

12 any variety for which a certificate of plant variety protec13 tion has been issued prior to the effective date of the Act,

14 and any variety for which an application is pending on

15 the effective date of this Act, shall continue to be governed

16 by the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.),

17 as in effect on the day before the effective date of this Act.

18 (b) APPLICATIONS REFILED.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—An applicant may refile a

20 pending application on or after the effective date of

21 this Act.

22 (2) EFFECT OF REFILING.—If a pending appli23 cation is refiled on or after the effective date of this

24 Act—
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1 (A) eligibility for protection and the terms

2 of protection shall be governed by the Plant Vari3 ety Protection Act, as amended by this Act; and

4 (B) for purposes of section 42 of the Plant

5 Variety Protection Act, as amended by section 3

6 of this Act, the date of filing shall be the date of

7 filing of the original application.

8 (c) LABELING.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—To obtain the protection pro10 vided to an owner of a protected variety under the

11 Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.)

12 (as amended by this Act), a notice given by an owner

13 concerning the variety under section 127 of the Plant

14 Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2567) shall state

15 that the variety is protected under such Act (as

16 amended by this Act).

17 (2) SANCTIONS.—Any person that makes a false

18 or misleading statement or claim, or uses a false or

19 misleading label, concerning protection described in

20 paragraph (1) shall be subject to the sanctions de21 scribed in section 128 of the Plant Variety Protection

22 Act (7 U.S.C. 2568).
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1 SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

3 become effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this

4 Act.

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