7 U.S.C. § 2425
(a)
(1)
An application for a certificate of plant
variety protection filed in
this country based on the same
variety, and on rights derived from the same
breeder, on which there has previously been filed an application for plant
variety protection in a foreign country which affords similar privileges in the case of applications filed in the
United States by nationals of the
United States, shall have the same effect as the same application would have if filed in the
United States on the date on which the application for plant
variety protection for the same
variety was first filed in such foreign country, if the application in
this country is filed within twelve months from the earliest date on which such foreign application was filed, not including the date on which the application is filed in the foreign country.
(2)
No application shall be entitled to a right of priority under this section, unless the applicant designates the foreign application in the application filed in the
United States or by amendment thereto and, if required by the
Secretary, furnishes such copy, translation or both, as the
Secretary may specify.
(3)
(A)
An applicant entitled to a right of priority under this subsection shall be allowed to furnish any necessary information, document, or material required for the purpose of the examination of the application during—
(i)
the 2-year period beginning on the date of the expiration of the period of priority; or
(ii)
if the first application is rejected or withdrawn, an appropriate period after the rejection or withdrawal, to be determined by the
Secretary.
(B)
An event occurring within the period of priority (such as the filing of another application or use of the
variety that is the subject of the first application) shall not constitute a ground for rejecting the application or give rise to any third party right.
(b)
An application for a certificate of plant
variety protection for the same
variety as was the subject of an application previously filed in the
United States by or on behalf of the same
person, or by the predecessor in title of the
person, shall have the same effect as to such
variety as though filed on the date of the prior application if filed before the issuance of the certificate or other termination of proceedings on the first application or on an application similarly entitled to the benefit of the filing date of the first application and if it contains or is amended to contain a specific reference to the earlier filed application.
(c)
A later application shall not by itself establish that a characteristic newly described was in the
variety at the time of the earlier application.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
(Pub. L. 91–577, title II, § 55, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1548; Pub. L. 103–349, §§ 5, 13(i), Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3139, 3143.)
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–349, § 5(1), designated first sentence as par. (1) and second sentence as par. (2).
Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 103–349, § 5(2), inserted before period at end “, not including the date on which the application is filed in the foreign country”.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 103–349, § 13(i)(1), substituted “in the application filed in the United States” for “in his application”.
Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 103–349, § 5(3), added par. (3).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–349, § 13(i)(2), substituted “the predecessor in title of the person” for “his predecessor in title”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1994 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 103–349 effective 180 days after Oct. 6, 1994, see section 15 of Pub. L. 103–349, set out as a note under section 2401 of this title.