Editor's Note
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) will start accepting applications of seed-propagated hemp for plant variety protection. PVPO provides intellectual property protection to breeders of new varieties of seeds and tubers. PVPO examines new applications and grants certificates that protect varieties for 20 years (25 years for vines and trees). Certificate owners have rights to exclude others from marketing and selling their varieties, manage the use of their varieties by other breeders, and enjoy legal protection of their work.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that the Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) will start accepting applications of seed-propagated hemp for plant variety protection.

PVPO provides intellectual property protection to breeders of new varieties of seeds and tubers. Implementing the  Plant Variety Protection Act , PVPO examines new applications and grants certificates that protect varieties for 20 years (25 years for vines and trees). Certificate owners have rights to exclude others from marketing and selling their varieties, manage the use of their varieties by other breeders, and enjoy legal protection of their work.

Applicants can submit their applications through the  electronic application filing system , choosing hemp in the Crop Kind Dropdown box. The ePVP System provides an efficient and secure way to 1) file new plant variety protection applications, 2) amend existing applications, 3) pay fees, 4) check the status of an application, and 5) correspond directly with PVPO staff.

All new ePVP System users must be e-authenticated before being able to use the system. Click on  http://www.eauth.usda.gov/  to apply for a USDA eAuthentication Account.

  • Domestic users: Request level 2 access and follow the instructions to establish the account.
  • International users: Request level 1 access only; and upon creating the account, email name and contact information to pvpomail@ams.usda.gov to finalize the account authorization.
  • Once e-Authentication has been completed, applicants can proceed to establish an ePVPaccount.

For questions on e-Authentication, logging into the ePVP System and PVPO operation, please e-mail  pvpomail@ams.usda.gov  or call (202) 260-8983. Information on program requirements, fees and forms is also provided on the  PVPO website .

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