Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73
§2566 Time limitation on damages
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 › § 2566
Summary
No damages can be recovered for infringement that happened more than six years before you file a lawsuit, or more than one year before filing if the owner already knew about it. For claims against the U.S., the time from when it receives a written compensation claim until it mails a denial is not counted toward those limits.
Full Legal Text
Title 7, §2566
Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)No recovery shall be had for that part of any infringement committed more than six years (or known to the owner more than one year) prior to the filing of the complaint or counterclaim for infringement in the action.
(b)In the case of claims against the United States Government for unauthorized use of a protected variety, the period between the date of receipt of written claim for compensation by the department or agency of the Government having authority to settle such claim, and the date of mailing by the Government of a notice to the claimant that the claim has been denied shall not be counted as part of the period referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1994—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–349 substituted “the” for “his” before “claim has been denied”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1994 AmendmentAmendment 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.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 2566
Title 7 — Agriculture
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73