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The Asgrow Seed Company (ASGROW) is one of the largest research 

 orientated seed companies in the United States marketing both vegetable and 

 agronomic varieties. ASGROW spends millions of dollars each year on research and 

 development to bring new varieties to the market which it protects under the Plant 

 Variety Protection Act (PVPA). Because the PVPA is not self enforcing, ASGROW 

 has had to resort to litigation in approximately two dozen cases in fourteen states to 

 protect the rights granted it under the PVPA. Virtually all of these cases have 

 involved infringement under 7 U.S.C. §§ 2541(1), 2541(3) and/or 2541(6). The 

 defense in a number of these cases involved claiming the exemption to save and sell 

 seed under 7 U.S.C. § 2543. 



Given ASGROW's great investment in the seed business and its difficulties in 

 enforcing the rights granted it under the PVPA, ASGROW believes that S. 1 406 is a 

 step forward. The provision eliminating the sale of seed by farmers will benefit not 

 only the seed developers but the farmers as well. Because the farmers can not sell 

 saved seed (without authorization of the owner), the owners will make more sales and 

 feel safer in investing in more research. The more research being conducted the more 

 new and better varieties will be developed. Since the American farmer is only as 

 competitive in international markets as the seed he plants, the newer and better 

 varieties developed will directly benefit the farmers. Therefore, the provision 

 eliminating the farmers ability to sell seed, will in the near future benefit both the seed 

 companies and the farmers; it is a win-win situation. 



While ASGROW believes the amendments in S. 1 406 will help both the 

 research orientated seed companies and the American farmer, ASGROW believes that 

 some amendments to S. 1 406 are required. The remainder of this statement will be 

 devoted to our proposed amendments and the reasons for them. Our comments will 

 be by page and line number of S. 1 406. 



Page 1, line 23 thru page 3. line 23 

 Defining "Essentially Derived Variety" is a very difficult task even when done on 

 a crop-by-crop basis as various professional/trade groups have found when attempting 



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