republic-os/legal/us/code/title-35/chapter-15/section-163.md

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LegalText	35 U.S.C. § 163	Grant	us	united_states_code	code_section	35	PATENTS	15	PLANT PATENTS	163	35 U.S.C. § 163	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc35@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t35/s163	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-35/usc35.xml	b62fcd9a8b44a5cb880fdf1492a69c6ce189ce8f56e5cc7b949e5bbedc92528a	736cab508592dcf50013a1aed5ab108f72fd8493e76afc46848cdc35da38bbe3	fdd5f0b82c7db2180f7df0be982966e3c95c3e07bf1ba2ff10ae7b2e4a535fc6	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

35 U.S.C. § 163 - Grant

Text

In the case of a plant patent, the grant shall include the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant, and from using, offering for sale, or selling the plant so reproduced, or any of its parts, throughout the United States, or from importing the plant so reproduced, or any parts thereof, into the United States.

(July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 804; Pub. L. 105–289, § 3(a), Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2781.)

Notes

Historical and Revision NotesBased on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 40, part (R.S. 4884, amended May 23, 1930, ch. 312, § 1, 46 Stat. 376). This provision is from R.S. 4884 (see section 154) amended in language.

Editorial Notes

Amendments1998—Pub. L. 105–289 reenacted section catchline without change and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In the case of a plant patent the grant shall be of the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant or selling or using the plant so reproduced.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1998 AmendmentPub. L. 105–289, § 3(b), Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2781, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply to any plant patent issued on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 27, 1998].”

Findings and PurposesPub. L. 105–289, § 2, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2780, provided that: “(a) Findings.—The Congress makes the following findings:“(1) The protection provided by plant patents under title 35, United States Code, dating back to 1930, has historically benefited American agriculture and horticulture and the public by providing an incentive for breeders to develop new plant varieties. “(2) Domestic and foreign agricultural trade is rapidly expanding and is very different from the trade of the past. An unforeseen ambiguity in the provisions of title 35, United States Code, is undermining the orderly collection of royalties due breeders holding United States plant patents. “(3) Plant parts produced from plants protected by United States plant patents are being taken from illegally reproduced plants and traded in United States markets to the detriment of plant patent holders. “(4) Resulting lost royalty income inhibits investment in domestic research and breeding activities associated with a wide variety of crops—an area where the United States has historically enjoyed a strong international position. Such research is the foundation of a strong horticultural industry. “(5) Infringers producing such plant parts from unauthorized plants enjoy an unfair competitive advantage over producers who pay royalties on varieties protected by United States plant patents. “(b) Purposes.—The purposes of this Act [see section 1 of Pub. L. 105–289, set out as a Short Title of 1998 Amendments note under section 1 of this title] are—“(1) to clearly and explicitly provide that title 35, United States Code, protects the owner of a plant patent against the unauthorized sale of plant parts taken from plants illegally reproduced; “(2) to make the protections provided under such title more consistent with those provided breeders of sexually reproduced plants under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.), as amended by the Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994 (Public Law 103–349); and “(3) to strengthen the ability of United States plant patent holders to enforce their patent rights with regard to importation of plant parts produced from plants protected by United States plant patents, which are propagated without the authorization of the patent holder.”