A bill to amend the Plant Variety Protection Act to clarify its provisions, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Amends the Plant Variety Protection Act to make the Plant Variety Protection Office within the Department of Agriculture an office rather than a bureau. Eliminates the bonding requirement for employees of such office. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain a register of descriptions of United States protected plant varieties rather than a register of published specifications for such varieties. Bars a plant breeder's right to protect a plant variety if such variety was offered for sale or sold by the owner in a foreign country for longer than four years (six in the case of woody plants) before the effective filing date of the application. Eliminates the right to amend an application for a certificate recognizing plant variety rights to include a declaration that a viable sample of basic seed necessary for propagation of the variety will be deposited and replenished periodically in a public repository. Permits the Secretary to publish the name of an applicant for plant variety protection and whether the applicant specified that the variety is to be sold by variety name only as a class of certified seed. Increases the term of plant variety protection from 17 to 18 years. Authorizes the Secretary to issue corrected certificates of plant protection, rather than mere certificates of correction, with the same effect and operation in law as if the certificate had been originally issued in such corrected form. Authorizes owners of rights in plant varieties to give notice to the public of such rights by fixing a label to such varieties stating "Unauthorized Seed Multiplication Prohibited" or "Unauthorized Propagation Prohibited" rather than "Propagation Prohibited". Repeals the exemption for the seeds, plants, or transplants of okra, celery, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. Amends the Federal Seed Act to prohibit the offer for sale or advertisement by variety name of seed not appropriately certified under the Plant Variety Protection Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 12, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 12, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN MELCHER (D-MT) introduced it on June 12, 1980, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 12, 1980, 16891 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16891 days ago, on June 12, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers