I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5253 
To make technical corrections in patent law. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 7, 2004 
Mr. ISSA (for himself and Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To make technical corrections in patent law. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Plant Breeders Equity 
Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) Since 1930, the Plant Patent Act has bene-
fited the public by encouraging innovation and devel-
opment of new varieties of asexually reproduced 
plants, including trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit- 
producing plants.
(2) The United States is a signatory to the 
International Union for the Protection of New Vari-
eties of Plants (UPOV) Convention; however, the 
plant patent system has not been modernized to in-
corporate important provisions of UPOV, placing 
breeders of asexually reproduced plants in a position 
of inequity with breeders of other types of plants in 
the United States and with foreign breeders. 
(3) Closer harmonization of the plant patent 
system with UPOV will restore equity and ensure 
continued innovation and development of horti-
cultural plant varieties. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 35, UNITED STATES CODE. 
(a) NOVELTY.—Section 162 of title 35, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking the section heading and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘§ 162. Description, claim, novelty’’; 
(2) in the first undesignated paragraph, by 
striking ‘‘No plant’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘(a) 
DESCRIPTION.—No plant’’; 
(3) in the second undesignated paragraph, by 
striking ‘‘The claim’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) CLAIM.—The claim’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) NOVELTY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), no plant patent application shall be de-
nied, nor shall any issued plant patent be invali-
dated, on the grounds that the invention was sold or 
otherwise disposed of. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply if— 
‘‘(A) more than 1 year prior to the date of 
the application for patent in the United States, 
the invention was sold or otherwise disposed of 
to other persons in the United States, by or 
with the consent of the inventor or discoverer, 
or the successor in interest of the inventor or 
discoverer, for purposes of exploitation of the 
invention; 
‘‘(B) except as provided in subparagraph 
(C), more than 4 years prior to the date of the 
application for patent in the United States, the 
invention was sold or otherwise disposed of to 
other persons in a foreign country, by or with 
the consent of the inventor or discoverer, or the 
successor in interest of the inventor or discov-
erer, for purposes of exploitation of the inven-
tion; or
‘‘(C) more than 6 years prior to the date 
of the application for patent in the United 
States, in the case of a tree or vine, the inven-
tion was sold or otherwise disposed of to other 
persons in a foreign country, by or with the 
consent of the inventor or discoverer, or the 
successor in interest of the inventor or discov-
erer, for the purposes of exploitation of the in-
vention.’’. 
(b) PLANT PATENT GRANT.—Section 163 of title 35, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘In the case’’ and inserting the 
following: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) applies equally 
to any plant that is not clearly distinguishable from a pro-
tected plant.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal-
ysis for chapter 15 of title 35, United States Code is 
amended by striking the item relating to section 162 and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘162. Description, claim, novelty.’’. 
(d) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 
section apply to—
(1) all applications for plant patents filed on or 
after the date of enactment of this Act, or pending 
on that date; and 
(2) in the case of the amendments made by 
subsection (a), all plant patents in force on the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
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