---
kind: "section"
citation: "7 U.S.C. § 2504"
title: "7"
title_heading: "Agriculture"
number: "2504"
heading: "Interfering plant variety protection"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/7/2504"
units:
  - "Chapter 57 — Plant Variety Protection"
  - "Subchapter II — Protectability of Plant Varieties and Certificates of Protection"
  - "Part I — Reexamination After Issue, and Contested Proceedings"
---

# §2504. Interfering plant variety protection

- (a) The owner of a certificate of plant [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) protection may have relief against another owner of a certificate of the same [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) by civil action, and the court may adjudge the question of validity of the respective certificates, or the ownership of the certificate.
- (b) Such suit may be instituted against the party in interest as shown by the record of the Plant [Variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) Protection Office at the time of the decision complained of, but any party in interest may become a party to the action. If there be adverse parties residing in a plurality of districts not embraced within the same [State](/usc/7/198.md?p=5), or an adverse party residing in a foreign country, the [United States](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-9) District Court for the District of Columbia, or any [United States](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-9) district court to which it may transfer the case, shall have jurisdiction and may issue summons against the adverse parties directed to the marshall of any district in which any adverse party resides. Summons against adverse parties residing in foreign countries may be served by publication or otherwise as the court directs. The [Secretary](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-2) shall not be made a party but the [Secretary](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-2) shall have the right to intervene. Judgment of the court in favor of the right of an applicant to plant [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) protection shall authorize the [Secretary](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-2) to issue a certificate of plant [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) protection on the filing in the Plant [Variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) Protection Office of a certified copy of the judgment and on compliance with the requirements of this chapter.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 91–577, title II, § 92, formerly § 94, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1553; renumbered § 92 and amended Pub. L. 103–349, §§ 8(b), (c)(1), 13(p), Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3140, 3144.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

The text of subsec. (b) of section 2463 of this title, which was transferred to subsec. (b) of this section by Pub. L. 103–349, § 8(c)(1), was based on section 73(b) of Pub. L. 91–577, title II, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1550.

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 92 of Pub. L. 91–577 was classified to section 2502 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–349.

### Amendments

1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–349, § 8(b)(2), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and struck out at end “The provisions of section 2463(b) of this title shall apply to actions brought under this section.”

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–349, §§ 8(c)(1), 13(p), transferred subsec. (b) of section 2463 of this title to subsec. (b) of this section, and substituted “the Secretary” for “he” before “shall have” in fourth sentence. See Codification note above.

### 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.