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.

Spring 2011

The WSCIA Foundation Seed Service accepts year-in-advance (YIA) agreements for all varieties.  The YIA agreements are firm commitments to purchase seed at an agreed upon price.  These agreements are offered so that you can reserve specific varieties for future planting.  A discount of $0.05 per pound is also a benefit in signing a YIA agreement, offered on all varieties excepting those within two years of release. 
In the case of newly released varieties, such as  "Babe", the YIA agreement document will look and read differently.  This was necessary in order to conform to the WSU system of variety release, and the legal and technical aspects of Plant Variety Protection (PVP) law regarding the timing of sale of new varieties. 
WSIA reserves the right to change a penalty or restocking fee up to the full amount of the purchase price if the available seed is not purchased under the YIA agreement.  Non-YIA sales will be at the price in effect at the time of delivery. 
Please note in the Spring 2010 Seed Order Form that some items are "crossed-out" for 2010, but can be made available to you in 2011 by use of the YIA agreement.  Simply enter the pounds you want in the "2011 YIA POUNDS" column, fax or mail it to us and an agreement document will be mailed to you!

For pricing questions on Foundation seed please contact:

Fountation Seed Services
Grimes Way, WSU Seedhouse
Pullman, WA 99164
(509) 335-4965
(509) 335-7007 fax