What Plant Variety Protection expiry means

A US Plant Variety Protection (PVP) certificate, issued by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, gives the owner exclusive rights to a seed- or tuber-propagated variety for a fixed term. Under current law, the term is 20 years from the date of issue, or 25 years for a tree or vine (7 U.S.C. § 2483(b)). USDA says: "Plant Variety Protection rights are granted for a period of up to 25 years for a variety of a tree or woody vine (including their rootstocks), and 20 years for all other varieties of plants" (USDA AMS). Older certificates, issued under earlier versions of the law, had shorter terms; our list uses the "Years Protected" value USDA reports for each certificate.

A certificate can end early. The owner can voluntarily abandon it ("Upon receipt of an abandonment notice, the variety becomes open for use by the public," USDA AMS). It also expires if the owner, after notice, fails to replenish seed in the public repository or to submit a different variety name when required (7 U.S.C. § 2483(c)). USDA may shorten the term if the applicant delayed issuance (§ 2483(b)(2)).

What USDA says

• "Seed and potato samples are not available to the public until plant variety protection on the variety expires for any reason. At that point samples are transferred to the USDA genebank" (USDA AMS PVPO FAQ). USDA's genebank distributes samples to "scientists, educators, producers and other bona fide research and education entities," so access is not automatic.
• USDA "cannot guarantee the accuracy of the Status and Status Date fields or the update frequency of the PVPO Certificate Status Database" (USDA AMS).

Saving seed was always allowed. Even during protection, a farmer may save seed of a protected variety to replant on their own farm, but may not sell it for reproduction (7 U.S.C. § 2543).

What expiry does not mean

• Brand names don't expire. A trademark on the name a variety is marketed under can be renewed indefinitely. Only the variety (and its cultivar denomination) leaves PVP.
• Other rights can remain. A variety or its traits may also be covered by a utility patent, licenses, or contracts (such as bag-tag or technology-use agreements), and those can last longer.
• Our dates are mostly calculated. We add USDA's "Years Protected" to the issue date. Where USDA records an earlier end date, we use that instead. Some certificates whose term has run out are still listed by USDA as "Certificate Issued," and we flag them. A certificate can also end early for other reasons.

This is not legal advice. Before you propagate or sell a variety, confirm its status with USDA's Plant Variety Protection Office and get advice from a qualified attorney.