Last updated: August 17, 2026

What Are the Alternatives to Plant Patents?

In addition to plant patents, the Plant Variety Protection Act (Public Law 91577), approved December 24, 1970, provides for a system of protection for sexually reproduced varieties, for which protection was not previously provided, under the administration of a Plant Variety Protection Office within the Department of Agriculture.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the 2018 Farm bill, expanded PVPA’s influence to include asexual plants. Does that mean that plant patents are now obsolete? On the contrary, the 2001 Supreme Court case J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred, the precedent for the 2018 Farm Bill, had ruled that plant patents, the PVPA, and utility patents could all be used in conjunction with (instead of in opposition to) each other. While the PVPA now extends to asexual plants, it still holds true that both forms can be used simultaneously for different purposes.

A plant patent specializes in excluding others from cloning or using, including for research, the exact newly developed species in question. PPAs would be more beneficial for protection against others commercially exploiting the new plant variety or from developing hybrid varieties from that species. Pursuing both avenues of protection would thereby allow for more comprehensive coverage.

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