7 USC § 2504 - Interfering plant variety protection

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t7/s2504"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "7 USC § 2504 - Interfering plant variety protection"
title_number: 7
title_name: "AGRICULTURE"
section_number: "2504"
section_name: "Interfering plant variety protection"
chapter_number: 57
chapter_name: "PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION"
subchapter_number: "II"
subchapter_name: "PROTECTABILITY OF PLANT VARIETIES AND CERTIFICATES OF PROTECTION"
part_number: "I"
part_name: "Reexamination After Issue, and Contested Proceedings"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 91–577, title II, § 92, formerly § 94, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1553; renumbered § 92 and amended Pub. L. 103–349, §§ 8(b), (c)(1), 13(p), Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3140, 3144.)"
---


# § 2504. Interfering plant variety protection

**(a)** The owner of a certificate of plant variety protection may have relief against another owner of a certificate of the same variety by civil action, and the court may adjudge the question of validity of the respective certificates, or the ownership of the certificate.

**(b)** Such suit may be instituted against the party in interest as shown by the record of the Plant Variety Protection Office at the time of the decision complained of, but any party in interest may become a party to the action. If there be adverse parties residing in a plurality of districts not embraced within the same State, or an adverse party residing in a foreign country, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or any United States district court to which it may transfer the case, shall have jurisdiction and may issue summons against the adverse parties directed to the marshall of any district in which any adverse party resides. Summons against adverse parties residing in foreign countries may be served by publication or otherwise as the court directs. The Secretary shall not be made a party but the Secretary shall have the right to intervene. Judgment of the court in favor of the right of an applicant to plant variety protection shall authorize the Secretary to issue a certificate of plant variety protection on the filing in the Plant Variety Protection Office of a certified copy of the judgment and on compliance with the requirements of this chapter.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 91–577, title II, § 92, formerly § 94, Dec. 24, 1970, 84 Stat. 1553; renumbered § 92 and amended Pub. L. 103–349, §§ 8(b), (c)(1), 13(p), Oct. 6, 1994, 108 Stat. 3140, 3144.)

## Editorial Notes

### Codification

The text of subsec. (b) of , which was transferred to subsec. (b) of this section by , was based on , title II, , .

### Prior Provisions

A prior  was classified to  prior to repeal by .

### Amendments

1994—Subsec. (a). , designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and struck out at end “The provisions of  shall apply to actions brought under this section.”

Subsec. (b). , §§ 8(c)(1), 13(p), transferred subsec. (b) of  to subsec. (b) of this section, and substituted “the Secretary” for “he” before “shall have” in fourth sentence. See Codification note above.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

Amendment by  effective 180 days after , see , set out as a note under .