IMPACT OF PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION John Calvert United States Patent And Trademark Office

2 Intellectual Property Laws Applied to Plant Varieties in the U.S Plant Patent (PPA) Plant Variety Protection (PVPA) Utility Patent (Patent for Invention) (Patent Law)

3 The History of Plant Variety Protection in the United States 1 St Patent Act (Utility Patent) Plant Patent Act (PPA) Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) Joined UPOV 1978 Act Joined UPOV 1991 Act Utility Patent Applied to Plants 1994 Amended Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) Patent Act (Utility Patent) 1952

4 Administered by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Applies to anything under the sun that is made by man Must meet requirements oUseful oNew (Novelty) oNon-obviousness Utility Patent

5 Administered by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Applies to asexually reproduced plants rooting, cuttings, grafting, budding, division, slips, layering, bulbs, rhizomes, runners, corms, tissue culture Plant Patent

6 Administered by Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO), USDA ( Applies to sexually (seed) propagated plants, edible tuber Examples: bean, corn, celery, potato, sesame, soybean, sunflower, etc. U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) 7 U.S.C. §§

7 Patent Law (Utility or Invention) Plant Patent Law Plant Variety Protection Law Applicable to Plant, plant part, gene, protein, method, etc. Asexually propagated plant and its asexually propagated progeny. Sexually (seed) propagated plant varieties Rights to exclude others from Making, using, selling, offering for sale and importing the plant, or any of its parts Selling, marketing, conditioning, stocking, offering for sale, reproducing, importing or exporting, using the variety to produce (as distinguished from develop) a hybrid or different variety Term of Protection 20 years term from date of filing 20 years (25 years for trees or vines) from issuance of the certificate ExemptionCrop Exemption: A person (farmer) may save seeds for planting on the persons land, but NO transfer to others for seed reproduction purposes

8 Impact of Plant Variety Protection

9 Increased Innovation Innovation means: Improved germplasm Products that enable farmers to be more productive Increased yield –high yielding varieties Reduced costquality seeds Less risk of lossdisease resistance, insect resistance, drought tolerance Products that improve food quality-low fat, high protein Products that has better industrial application: fiber strength, bio-energy crops New and distinct products

10 INCREASED INNOVATION

11 INCREASED INNOVATION

12 Innovation Brings Choices For Farmers reduces impact of factors beyond their control Pests/diseases Temperature Moisture Soil conditions Length of growing season Nutrient uptake

13 Improve Crop Yields Source: Agricultural Statistics, NASS, USDA, various years Wheat Corn Cotton Soybeans

14 Improve Crop Yield Increased average corn yields 1930s 30 bushels/acre (1.6 tons/hectare) bushels/acre (6.7 tons/hectare) Quadrupled cotton yields More than tripled soybean yields Source: American Seed Trade Association

15 US Seed Industry Today US Industry – $12 b Global Industry – $27b Heavy investment to new traits and new technologies Source: American Seed Trade Association

16 A Pipeline Beyond Imagination Source: American Seed Trade Association

17 Impact of Plant Variety Protection Increased Innovation Increased Investment in R&D Improved Productivity Preserved Natural Resources More Choices for Farmers and Consumers Expanded Trade

18 Contact Information John Calvert Administrator Inventor Assistance Program United States Patent and Trademark Office