Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73

§2562 Presumption of validity; defenses

Title 7 › Chapter CHAPTER 57— - PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION AND RIGHTS › Part Part L— - Remedies for Infringement of Plant Variety Protection, and Other Actions › § 2562

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Plant variety protection certificates are treated as valid. If someone says a certificate is not valid, that person must prove it. In a lawsuit, the defender must raise defenses like: they did not infringe or the certificate can’t be enforced; the certificate is invalid for reasons in section 2402; it broke rules in section 2422; the act was under an earlier certificate done before notice; or any other defense this chapter allows.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §2562

Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Certificates of plant variety protection shall be presumed valid. The burden of establishing invalidity of a plant variety 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 protection in suit on any ground specified in section 2402 of this title as a condition for protectability; (3) invalidity of the plant variety protection in suit for failure to comply with any requirement of section 2422 of this title; (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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 2562

Title 7 — Agriculture

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73