Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 84 Part 2.djvu/223

 84 STAT. ]

PUBLIC LAW 91-577-DEC. 24, 1970

1553

thereof shall be endorsed on copies of the specification of the protected plant variety thereafter distributed by the Plant Variety Protection Office. (c) If a person acting under subsection (a) makes a prima facie showing of facts needing proof, the Secretary may direct that the rexamination include such mterparty proceedings as he shall establish. Sec. 92. Priority Contest. (a) If the Secretary determines that two applications of different applicants may be based on the same variety, he may: (1) Initiate a priority contest on his own motion whether or not one of the applications may have been certificated; or (2) Issue a certificate on the application having the earliest effective filing date, with notice to all; or (3) Issue a certificate naming alternative owners, under a single variety name acceptable to both. (b) On request of any person when a certificate has been issued naming another as an owner or alternative owner, both having applied for protection on the same variety, the Secretary shall institute a priority contest, except that any person shall have forfeited his right to assert priority for the purpose of obtaining plant variety protection when an adverse certificate has issued if he fails to make the request within one year of the mailing of notice specified in part (2) above or if he fails to make the request within the period for taking action after refusal of his application on the basis of the adverse certificate. Sec. 93. Effect of Adverse Final Judgment or of Non Action. (a) A final judgment under section 92 adverse to an application from which no appeal or other review had been or can be taken or had shall constitute cancellation of any certificating on that application, and notice thereof shall be endorsed on copies of the specifications of the protected plant variety thereafter distributed by the Plant Variety Protection Office. (b) Any person who has not proceeded in accordance with the provision of this chapter shall not be foreclosed or in any way prejudiced with respect to the defense of an infringement suit or affirmative relief under declaratory judgment proceedings. (c) No person subject to an adverse decision in a proceeding under this chapter shall be foreclosed with respect to asserting comparable grounds in defense of an infringement suit or as a basis for affirmative relief under declaratory judgment proceedings. Sec. 94. Interfering Plant Variety Protection. 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. The provisions of section 73(b) of this title shall apply to actions brought under this section. TITLE III—PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION A N D RIGHTS Chapter

10. Ownership and Assignment 11. Infringement of Plant Variety Protection 12. Remedies for Infringement of Plant Variety Protection, and Other Actions 13. Intent and Severability 14. Temporary Provision and Related Enactments; Exempted Plants; Miscellaneous

Section

101 111 121 131 141

�