---
kind: "section"
citation: "7 U.S.C. § 2562"
title: "7"
title_heading: "Agriculture"
number: "2562"
heading: "Presumption of validity; defenses"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/7/2562"
units:
  - "Chapter 57 — Plant Variety Protection"
  - "Subchapter III — Plant Variety Protection and Rights"
  - "Part L — Remedies for Infringement of Plant Variety Protection, and Other Actions"
---

# §2562. Presumption of validity; defenses

- (a) Certificates of plant [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) protection shall be presumed valid. The burden of establishing invalidity of a plant [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) protection shall rest on the party asserting invalidity.
- (b) The following shall be defenses in any action charging infringement and shall be pleaded: (1) noninfringement, absence of liability for infringement, or unenforceability; (2) invalidity of the plant [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) protection in suit on any ground specified in [section 2402 of this title](/usc/7/2402.md) as a condition for protectability; (3) invalidity of the plant [variety](/usc/7/2401.md?p=a-10) protection in suit for failure to comply with any requirement of [section 2422 of this title](/usc/7/2422.md); (4) that the asserted infringement was performed under an existing certificate adverse to that asserted and prior to notice of the infringement; and (5) any other fact or act made a defense by this chapter.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 91–577, title III, § 122, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1556.)