I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4693 

To require persons who seek to retain seed harvested from the planting 

of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and 

pay fees set by the Secretary for retaining such seed, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2004 

Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require persons who seek to retain seed harvested from 

the planting of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and pay fees set by the Secretary 

for retaining such seed, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Seed Availability and 

5 Competition Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. RETAINING PATENTED SEED. 

2 (a) REGISTRATION.—Any person who plants patented 

3 seed or seed derived from patented seed may retain seed 

4 from the harvest of the planted seed for replanting by that 

5 person if that person— 

6 (1) submits to the Secretary of Agriculture no7 tice, in such form as the Secretary may require, of 

8 the type and quantity of seed to be retained and any 

9 other information the Secretary determines to be ap10 propriate; and 

11 (2) pays the fee established by the Secretary 

12 pursuant to subsection (b) for the type and quantity 

13 of seed retained. 

14 (b) FEES.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall estab15 lish a fee to be paid by a person pursuant to subsection 

16 (a)(2) based on the type and quantity of seed retained. 

17 The Secretary shall deposit amounts collected pursuant to 

18 subsection (a)(2) in the Patented Seed Fund established 

19 under subsection (e)(1). 

20 (c) REFUNDS.—The Secretary of Agriculture may re21 fund or make an adjustment of the fee paid pursuant to 

22 subsection (a)(2) when the person is unable to plant or 

23 harvest the retained seed as a result of a natural disaster 

24 or related condition and under such other circumstances 

25 as the Secretary considers such refund or adjustment ap26 propriate. 
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1 (d) DISTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

2 shall pay the collected fees to the appropriate patent hold3 ers, at a frequency that the Secretary determines is appro4 priate, from the Patented Seed Fund established under 

5 subsection (e)(1), taking into consideration the possibility 

6 of refunds pursuant to subsection (c). 

7 (e) PATENTED SEED FUND.— 

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

9 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

10 known as the ‘‘Patented Seed Fund’’, consisting of 

11 such amounts as may be received by the Secretary 

12 and deposited into such Fund as provided in this 

13 section. 

14 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Fund shall be ad15 ministered by the Secretary of Agriculture and all 

16 moneys in the Fund shall be distributed solely by 

17 the Secretary in accordance with this section and 

18 shall not be distributed or appropriated for any 

19 other purpose. Amounts in the Fund are available 

20 without further appropriation and until expended to 

21 make payments to patent holders. 

22 (f) INAPPLICABILITY OF CONTRACTS AND PATENT

23 FEES.—A person who retains seed under subsection (a) 

24 from the harvest of patented seed or seed derived from 

25 patented seed shall not be bound by any contractual limi-
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1 tation on retaining such seed, or by any requirement to 

2 pay royalties or licensing or other fees, by reason of the 

3 patent, for retaining such seed. 

4 (g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘patented 

5 seed’’ means seed for which a person holds a valid patent. 

6 SEC. 3. TARIFF ON CERTAIN IMPORTED PRODUCTS. 

7 (a) TARIFF.—In any case in which— 

8 (1) genetically modified seed on which royalties 

9 or licensing or other fees are charged by the owner 

10 of a patent on such seed to persons purchasing the 

11 seed in the United States is exported, and 

12 (2) no such fees, or a lesser amount of such 

13 fees, are charged to purchasers of the exported seed 

14 in a foreign country, 

15 then there shall be imposed on any product of the exported 

16 seed from that foreign country that enters the customs 

17 territory of the United States a duty determined by the 

18 Secretary of the Treasury, in addition to any duty that 

19 otherwise applies, in an amount that recovers the dif20 ference between the fees paid by purchasers of the seed 

21 in the United States and purchasers of the exported seed 

22 in that country. 

23 (b) DEPOSIT OF DUTIES.—There shall be deposited 

24 in the Patented Seed Fund established by section 2(e)(1) 

25 the amount of all duties collected under subsection (a) for 
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1 distribution to the appropriate patent holders in accord2 ance with section 2(d). 

3 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

4 (1) the term ‘‘genetically modified seed’’ means 

5 any seed that contains a genetically modified mate6 rial, was produced with a genetically modified mate7 rial, or is descended from a seed that contained a 

8 genetically modified material or was produced with 

9 a genetically modified material; and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘genetically modified material’’ 

11 means material that has been altered at the molec12 ular or cellular level by means that are not possible 

13 under natural conditions or processes (including re14 combinant DNA and RNA techniques, cell fusion, 

15 microencapsulation, macroencapsulation, gene dele16 tion and doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and 

17 changing the positions of genes), other than a means 

18 consisting exclusively of breeding, conjugation, fer19 mentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, tissue 

20 culture, or mutagenesis. 

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