H.R. 9681 – Fair Seeds for Farmers Act

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Updated July 18, 2026 at 2:03 PM UTC

The Fair Seeds for Farmers Act amends the America Invents Act to restrict federal intellectual‑property rights for plants. It limits protection to only the existing Plant Variety Protection Act and Plant Patent Act, and it prevents contracts that restrict seed saving, breeding, or research from being enforced. The changes affect new plant‑related patent applications, seed companies, breeders, farmers, and researchers, while leaving already‑granted patents unchanged.

Key Provisions

Adds a new Section 33A to the America Invents Act that bars any federal intellectual‑property protection for plants, plant varieties, or plant germplasm unless it is covered by the Plant Variety Protection Act or the Plant Patent Act.
Makes any contract or agreement that tries to limit a farmer’s or researcher’s ability to use, breed, experiment with, save seeds, or propagate such plant material unenforceable.
Applies only to patent applications filed on or after the law’s enactment and to contracts entered into after that date; it does not invalidate patents that were already issued before the law takes effect.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

July 14, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

July 14, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

July 14, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued July 14, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 9681

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 14, 2026

Mr. McGovern (for himself and Mr. Casar) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to limit intellectual property protection for plants, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Fair Seeds for Farmers Act.

2.

Limitation on intellectual property protection for plants

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note; Public Law 112–29) is amended—

(1)

in section 33, by adding at the end of the section heading the following: for human organisms; and

(2)

by inserting after such section the following (and conforming the table of contents appropriately):

33A.

Limitation on intellectual property protection for plants

(a)

In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of law—

(1)

no protection may be provided under any Federal law with respect to a plant, plant variety, or plant germplasm, except pursuant to a law described in subsection (b); and

(2)

no contractual obligation or agreement that may be allowable under the laws described in subsection (b) that limits the use of a plant, plant variety, plant germplasm, or other biological material for research, breeding, experimentation, seed saving, or propagation may be enforced.

(b)

Laws described

The laws described in this subsection are the following:

(1)

The Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.).

(2)

Chapter 15 of title 35, United States Code (commonly known as the Plant Patent Act of 1930).

(c)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Germplasm

The term germplasm means plant material capable of propagation, including seeds, pollen, tubers, or rootstock for use in breeding, conservation, or research.

(2)

Plant variety

The term plant variety means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank that can be defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one characteristic and considered as a unit with regard to the suitability of the plant grouping for being propagated unchanged. A plant variety may be represented by seed, transplants, plants, tubers, tissue culture plantlets, and other matter.

(d)

Effective date

(1)

In general

Subsection (a) shall apply to—

(A)

any application for a patent that is pending on, or filed on or after, the date of enactment of this section; and

(B)

any contractual obligation or agreement entered into on or after the date of enactment of this section.

(2)

Prior applications

Subsection (a) shall not affect the validity of any patent issued on an application to which paragraph (1) does not apply.

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