Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994
Public Law 103-349 · S. 1406 · 103rd Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Oct 6, 1994 · Agriculture and Food
Sponsor: Sen. Robert Kerrey (D-NE)
Cosponsors (10): Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. David Durenberger,
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994 - Amends the Plant Variety Protection Act to revise definitions and establish rules of construction concerning: (1) the sale and disposition of harvesting material, varieties, and hybrid seeds; (2) the filing of applications for the protection or entering of a variety in an official register; and (3) the basis of determining the distinctness of a variety or whether a variety is publicly known.
(Sec. 3) Entitles breeders of sexually reproduced or tuber propagated plant varieties other than fungi or bacteria (currently, other than fungi, bacteria, or first generation hybrids) who have reproduced a variety to plant variety protection if the variety is new, distinct, uniform, and stable.
Provides that if two or more applicants for plant variety protection submit applications on the same filing date for indistinguishable varieties that fulfill the conditions for protection established by this Act, the applicant who first complies with this Act's requirements shall be entitled to protection to the exclusion of any other applicant. Issues a single protection certificate jointly to two or more applicants who comply with requirements on the same date for varieties that are indistinguishable.
(Sec. 5) Grants an applicant two years (with appropriate additional time if rejected) to file necessary information under a foreign filing right of priority.
(Sec. 7) Lengthens the term of plant variety protection from 18 to 20 years from the date of issuance of the protection certificate (25 years for trees or vines).
(Sec. 8) Repeals priority contest and related adverse final judgment provisions.
(Sec. 9) Adds the following activities to the list of actions which constitute infringement of an owner's right to plant variety protection if performed without an owner's authorization: (1) conditioning the variety for purposes of propagation; and (2) stocking the variety for any existing purpose which constitutes infringement.
Permits owners to authorize the use of a variety subject to their own limitations.
Provides that it shall not be an infringement of an owner's rights to perform any act: (1) concerning propagating material of a protected variety that has been marketed in the United States unless the act involves further propagation of the variety or involves an export into a country that does not protect such varieties of the plant genus or species (unless the export is for final consumption); or (2) done privately and for noncommercial purposes.
(Sec. 10) Removes a provision that declares that it is not an infringement for a person whose primary farming occupation is the growing of crops for sale other than reproductive purposes to sell saved seed for reproductive purposes.
(Sec. 12) Requires the use of a variety name in connection with a sale or advertising, except for certain turf and forage grass seeds (unless otherwise required by State law).
(Sec. 13) Eliminates specified gender-based references.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee · Senate · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Agricultural Research, Conservation, Forestry and General Legislation Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 17 actions.
- Oct 6, 1994Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 103-349.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Sep 26, 1994PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Sep 21, 1994Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendment by Voice Vote.
- Aug 12, 1994FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · A similar measure H.R. 2927 was laid on the table without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · The House struck all after the enacting clause and inserted in lieu thereof the provisions of a similar measure H.R. 2927. Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- FloorFloor · Mr. de la Garza asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and consider.
- May 26, 1994CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- May 25, 1994FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Sep 20, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Agricultural Research, Conservation, Forestry and General Legislation Subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- Aug 20, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Agricultural Research, Conservation, Forestry and General Legislation Subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- Aug 6, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.