7 U.S.C. § 2568: False marking; cease and…

Summary

Makes it illegal to use false or misleading labels when selling or advertising plants, tubers, or parts that can be reproduced. Four kinds of claims are banned: saying a plant is a protected U.S. variety when it is not; saying a protection application is pending when it is not; using phrases like "Unauthorized Propagation Prohibited" without a good reason (that reason normally lasts one year after the first sale unless a pending application or active certificate extends it); and failing to use the variety name when a protection certificate exists (with some kinds of grass, alfalfa, or clover seed being excepted). A government official (the Secretary) can hold a hearing and order the seller to stop. That order stands unless it is appealed. Breaking a final stop order or lying to deceive the public can bring fines from $500 up to $10,000. A business harmed by these actions can also sue in court.

Title 7, §2568

Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Each of the following acts, if performed in connection with the sale, offering for sale, or advertising of sexually or asexually reproducible plant material or tubers or parts of tubers, is prohibited, and the Secretary may, if the Secretary determines after an opportunity for hearing that the act is being so performed, issue an order to cease and desist, said order being binding unless appealed under section 2461 of this title:

(1)Use of the words “U.S. Protected Variety” or any word or number importing that the material is a variety protected under certificate, when it is not.

(2)Use of any wording importing that the material is a variety for which an application for plant variety protection is pending, when it is not.

(3)Use of either the phrase “Unauthorized Propagation Prohibited” or “Unauthorized Seed Multiplication Prohibited” or similar phrase without reasonable basis. Any reasonable basis expires one year after the first sale of the variety except as justified thereafter by a pending application or a certificate still in force.

(4)Failure to use the name of a variety for which a certificate of protection has been issued under this chapter, even after the expiration of the certificate, except that lawn, turf, or forage grass seed, or alfalfa or clover seed may be sold without a variety name unless use of the name of a variety for which a certificate of protection has been issued under this chapter is required under State law.

(b)Anyone convicted of violating a binding cease and desist order, or of performing any act prohibited in subsection (a) of this section for the purpose of deceiving the public, shall be fined not more than $10,000 and not less than $500.

(c)Anyone whose business is damaged or is likely to be damaged by an act prohibited in subsection (a) of this section, or is subjected to competition in connection with which such act is performed, may have remedy by civil action.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–334 inserted “or asexually” after “sexually” in introductory provisions. 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–349 inserted “or tubers or parts of tubers” after “plant material” and substituted “if the Secretary determines” for “if he determines” in introductory provisions, and added par. (4). 1980—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 96–574 substituted provisions respecting prohibitions for use of phrases “Unauthorized Propagation Prohibited” and “Unauthorized Seed Multiplication Prohibited” for provisions respecting prohibitions for use of phrase “propagation prohibited”.

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.

§2568 False Marking; Cease and Desist Orders