Title 7, AgricultureRelease 119-102

§2562 Presumption of Validity; Defenses

Title 7 › 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

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Certificates that protect plant varieties are assumed to be valid. Anyone who says a certificate is not valid must prove it. In a lawsuit claiming infringement (using a protected plant without permission), the accused must state defenses. These include not infringing or not being liable; that the certificate is invalid for any protectability reason listed in section 2402; that the certificate failed to meet a requirement in section 2422; that the act was done under an earlier, conflicting certificate before notice of infringement; or any other defense this law 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

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102