Plant Variety Protection (PVP)

Plant Variety Protection (PVP)

Plant Variety Protection Office - National plant germplasm page

USDA database of existing PVP varieties and owners.- Search for a PVP

United States Code Title 7 Chapter 57 -- the actual PVP law

Currently, Oregon State University is discussing whether plant breeding programs will apply for PVP for future releases. Included in the discussions are industry groups, universities in Idaho and Washington, and USDA-ARS. Below are some frequently asked questions regarding PVP. If you have a question that is not addressed, please send us an e-mail.

What is PVP? Plant Variety Protection (PVP) is a patent on a sexually propagated plant variety. PVP protects rights of ownership for the people who develop and release a cultivar for a period of 20 years. At the same time, there is full disclosure of how the variety was developed, making information available to anyone who wants it so that additional genetic advances can be made.

What does PVP give the breeder?

	Property rights and exclusive ownership of the plant variety. PVP covers all harvested plant material, not just seed.
	Law covers "intent". For example, other breeders may not make even a single backcross in an attempt to breed back to a variety protected by PVP.

How does a breeder obtain PVP? What is the application process? To obtain PVP, the breeder must:

	Describe development process
	Prove the cultivar is unique, uniform and stable
	Submit ownership statement describing who owns the variety
	Pay fees - $2750 examination and certificate fee paid to PVP office. Owners will have additional data gathering and administrative costs. Total cost for OSU to obtain PVP for a wheat variety is predicted to be about $5,000 - $10,000.

Does PVP have additional costs beyond the application process? A patent is only as strong as the willingness to defend it. If infringement occurs, considerable legal costs can be incurred pursuing the case.

Why would a public institution such as Oregon State University want to get PVP for plant varieties?

Royalties can generate research funds for breeding or other programs.

Protection. Some people are concerned that private companies will take publicly developed varieties, insert certain genes (for example, herbicide resistance), and then sell the modified variety at a high price. With PVP, the private company has to pay the university for the right to use and modify the variety. While this could generate income for the university, it is likely the private seed companies will pass the cost on to growers in the form of higher seed prices.

Can we go back and get PVP for varieties that have already been released? No. Once a variety has been released on the open market, you cannot go back and apply for PVP.

Would OSU patent all released varieties or just some? Based on what criteria? Who will decide? It has been suggested that the Variety Release Committee will recommend public or protected release on a case by case basis. This issue is still being discussed.

If OSU does PVP cultivars, will royalties be charged for the seed? The PVP holder may charge royalties, but is not required to. The decision regarding royalties could be made on a case by case basis. For example, Idaho has PVP for several recent soft white and hard red wheat releases, but does not charge royalties for the seed. Idaho also has PVP for IDO377S hard white wheat, and they have licensed exclusive rights to a grower cooperative named Pro-Mar. Other options include charging royalties without licensing exclusive rights, or only charging royalties for seed sales in other states.

If a royalty is charged, how much will it be? The royalty amount would be determined on a case by case basis, but would probably range from 1 to 5 cents per pound of seed.

Who gets royalties from the sale of PVP seed? For the first $50,000 of royalties, Oregon law requires that 30% goes to OSU Technology Transfer Office, 30% goes to the department that developed the variety, and 40% goes to the breeder. For amounts over $50,000 the percentages shift slightly. It would be up to the breeder who holds the PVP to decide if (s)he wants to donate his/her share to the university.

If a variety is protected by PVP, will growers be required to buy certified seed? Title V of the PVP code states that only certified seed can be sold. Title V is an optional code, to be decided by the people applying for the PVP. If Title V is included in a PVP, then growers must buy certified seed when they initially grow the variety. Under Title V, growers may save their own seed for subsequent seasons.

Can growers save their own seed if they are growing a PVP protected variety? Yes. Growers can collect and save the seed from a PVP protected variety for their own future planting without violation of the law. Growers may not sell PVP seed without permission from the PVP holder.

Can breeders use other people's PVP protected varieties to breed improved varieties? Breeders may use a protected variety as an initial source of genetic material. However, any new varieties resulting from crosses with a PVP variety must be distinct and different from the PVP source.

How would PVP's affect cooperation between breeding programs in Oregon, Washington and Idaho? This is an issue of concern to many people. Currently, there is a great deal of cooperation among programs in the tri-states, with free exchange of genetic material. If programs become dependent on PVP royalties for funding, there may be reluctance to exchange unprotected germplasm during cultivar development. This would be a loss for both breeders and growers. A possible solution might be to share royalties among the states, but this issue has not been resolved.

Do other states with public breeding programs get PVP for their varieties? Yes, many states protect their varieties. Policies regarding royalties and reasons for getting PVP vary among states.

Does PVP protection extend outside the Unites States? No. PVP only protects within U.S. borders. A separate decision would have to be made to apply for breeder protection in other countries if desired.