USDA issues certificates of protection to developers of 31 new varieties of seed-reproduced, tuber-propagated plants, including bean, rye grass, soybean, wheat; term of protection is 20 years for most crops

Duncan Martell

WASHINGTON , September 9, 2011 (press release) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 31 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bean, ryegrass, soybean and wheat.

The Plant Variety Protection Act provides legal protection in the form of intellectual property rights to developers of new varieties of plants.

“A certificate of protection is awarded to an owner of a crop variety after an examination shows that it is new, distinct from other varieties, and genetically uniform and stable through successive generations,” said Acting Administrator David Shipman, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). “The public benefits as the recipient of lower prices from increased productivity, and from quality food, feed, fiber and other products, that result directly from improved plant varieties.”

The term of protection is 20 years for most crops, and 25 years for trees, shrubs and vines. The owner of a protected variety has exclusive rights to multiply and market the seed of that variety.

The 31 certificates are:

--the Galeena variety of field bean, developed by AmeriSeed, LLC, Decatur, Ill.;

--the Indi variety of field bean, developed by Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Decatur, Ill.;

--the LS 2200 variety of perennial ryegrass, developed by Blue Moon Farms, LLC, Lebanon, Ore.;

--the 94Y02, 93Y23, 94Y61, 94Y30, 93Y72, RJS49004, RJS23002, RJS57001, RJS06002, RJS57002, RJS31009, RJS29003, RJS18003, XR32X10, XR33Y10, XB39B10, XB39E10, XR35A10, XR28L10, XB39C10, XB40U10, XB41K10 and XR35J10 varieties of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa;

--the WB-Mayville and Pivot varieties of common wheat, developed by Monsanto Technology, LLC, St. Louis;

--the Bridgeport* variety of common wheat, developed by Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.;

--the Blanca Grande 515* variety of common wheat, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Junction City, Kan.; and

--the Tioga* variety of durum wheat, developed by NDSU Research Foundation, Fargo, N.D.

*In the United States, seed of this variety shall be sold by variety name only as a class of certified seed, and shall conform to the number of generations specified by the owner of the rights (84 STAT. 1542, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2321 ET SEQ).

AMS administers the Plant Variety Protection Act, which provides time-limited marketing protection to developers of new and distinct seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants ranging from farm crops to flowers.

For more information, contact the Plant Variety Protection Office at (301) 504-5518, fax (301) 504-5291 or the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/pvpo.

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