Plant Variety Protection

Plant Variety Protection Office. http //www.ams.usda.gov/science/uvpo/PVPindex.htm... 

Sexually reproduced plants, except fungi, bacteria and first generation hybrids are protected by the 1970 Plant Variety Protection Act or PVPA. This Act provides for the issuance of a certificate of plant variety protection from the Plant Variety Protection Office of the Department of Agriculture which administers the Act. The protection granted provides protection against unauthorized propagation of seed to be sold or used as a propagating material for a period of 18 years. 

In light of Chakrabarty, it appears that section 101 specifically protects man-made life forms at the microorganism and plant level, including plant life itself. However, in the 1930 Plant Patent Act and the 1970 Plant Variety Protection Act, Congress has specifically set forth how and under what conditions plant life covered by these Acts should be protected. Since the plant patent provision was added to the predecessor of section 101, it is clear that Congress intended a "distinct... 

Especially for wild plants and essentially allogamous plants not ful lling DUS for cultivated varieties (cultivars) and plants where the phytochemical characteristics are more important than the morphological ones, plant patents offer an interesting alternative to plant variety protection (PVP) (Table 3.10). 

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