Date: 1994-08-12
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. the Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994 would conform current U.S. law with the articles of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of 1991. otherwise referred to as the UPOV. .Mr.. Speaker. H.R. 2927. the Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994. would conform current U.S. law with the articles of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of 1991. otherwise referred to as the UPOV Convention. The primary purpose of this legislation is to strengthen the Intellectual property rights of plant breeders and accommodate recent advancements In plant science knowledge and technology. Since 1970. the Plant Variety Protection Act [PVPA] has provided for the issuance of certificates of plant variety protection. These certificates assure the the developers of novel varieties of sexually reproduced plants have the exclusive rights to sell. reproduce. Import. or export such varieties. or use them in the reproduction of hybrids or different varieties. In order to provide our plant breeders protection in other countries as well. the United States became a member of the UPOV Convention in 1981. The UPOV currently has 25 member countries and provides for uniform practices in the construction and administration of plant variety protection laws in the various member states. After several years of negotiations. the UPOV Convention was significantly revised In 1991 to provide improved protection for Innovative plant varieties. The United States Is a signatory to the 1991 agreement The bill before the House today would conform the current Plant Variety Protection Act to the 1991 UPOV agreement Briefly. the major provision of H.R. 2927 would: Prohibit the unauthorized sale of seed by farmers to others. establish new definitions. use the date of filing for protection as the basis for determining eligibility for protection. require that protected varieties be sold by variety name onlywith a narrow exemption provided for certain turf and forage grass seeds. extend protection to first generation hybrids. extend the period of protection from 18 to 20 years for most crops and from 18 to 25 years for trees and vines. Mr. Speaker. each of these changes are needed to conform U.S. law to the 1991 act of the UPOV Convention. In addition. and at the request of the potato industry. a provision is made for including tuberpropagated varieties within the scope of the PVPA. Mr. Speaker. the development of new plant varieties is timeconsuming and costly. Many years must be spent In the development of a single new variety. with no guarantee of its success or profit By granting an owner of a variety the right to prevent unauthorized sale of seed of that variety. this legislation will provide that owner with the opportunity to. recover the costs of development. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 2927 will encourage and protect the investment in research into new varieties necessary to respond to the changing needs of American agriculture. I urge my colleagues in the House to support passage of this legislation.