19 



informed FDA that they believe the other may have been 

 responsible for the shipment of Y-1 seed outside the U.S. We 

 have asked both companies to furnish copies of any Tobacco Seed 

 Plant Export Permits for Y-1. 



In reading the Brazilian Y-1 patent, we discovered that two 

 related applications for the Y-1 variety of a tobacco plant were 

 filed in the United States. Brown & Williamson filed a U.S. 

 patent application and a Plant Variety Protection Certificate 

 Application in 1991." *' The company also deposited samples of 

 seeds from this plant with the National Seed Storage Laboratory 

 in Fort Collins, Colorado. 



When we attempted to obtain the Plant Variety Protection 

 Certificate Application from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

 we learned that the application was withdrawn about 3 months ago, 



on March 14, 1994. We were told that Brown & Williamson also 

 withdrew all seed samples for this variety from the Seed Storage 

 Laboratory. 



We learned that the U.S. patent application had been 

 rejected by the patent examiner," but that Brown & Williamson 

 had filed an appeal on February 28, 1994.'' However, two weeks 

 later, on March 16, 1994, before receiving a response to their 



16 



appeal. Brown & Williamson expressly abandoned the patent. 

 (Chart 14) 



On Friday, June 10, 1994, DNA Plant Technology told us that 

 it had been authorized by Brown & Williamson to tell FDA that Y-1 

 was never commercialized. 



Mr. Chairman, I wish to submit for the record two invoices 

 filed with the U.S. Customs Service in 1992. The invoices are 

 addressed to Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Louisville, 

 Kentucky from Souza Cruz Overseas. They refer to "Your Order 

 Project Y-1" and reveal that more than one-half a million pounds 

 of Y-1 tobacco were shipped to Brown & Williamson on September 

 21, 1992.^' 



Four days ago, on Friday June 17, after our questioning of 



