Under the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 (revised 1994), an originator, developer, or owner of a variety may obtain legal protection for that variety exercising one of two enforcement options:

1. The authorized agent may sell either certified or non-certified seed of the variety, with a label stateing "Unauthorized propagation prohibited-U.S. Variety Protection applied for" (or "...U.S. Protected Variety", if the certificate has been issued).  Infringement of the patent is litigated by civil action.

2. The authorized agent may elect to utilize the provisions of Title V of the Federal Seed Act, which stipulates that the variety may be sold by variety name only as a class of Certified seed.  The labeling is similar to the non-certification except for the added statement "To be sold by variety name only as a class of Certified Seed".  Infringement of the Patent in this case is a violation of the Federal Seed Act and thus has advantages for enforcement as compared with civil litigation.

Benefit to the farmers:
The Plant Variety Protection Act was designed to promote the development of new varieties.  Allowing Plant Breeders to determine who can sell seed of the varieties developed gives them the ability to recoup the monies expended in the process and re-invest in future variety development programs.
Researchers estimate that as much as 65% of increased performance in agricultural crops is due to improved genetics.  Besides increases in yield, there have been improvements in disease and pest resistance, and varieties that are adapted to various soil types and production practices.