H.R. 9681: What Seed Industry Members Should Know About the Fair Seeds for Farmers Act

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Legislative update | October 14, 2026

Quick Facts: Fair Seeds for Farmers Act

Status: H.R. 9681 is a proposal, not current law. It was introduced July 14, 2026, and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
What it would change: The bill would limit federal intellectual property protection for covered plants, plant varieties, and plant germplasm to the Plant Variety Protection Act and Plant Patent Act, removing utility patents as an option for covered material.
Contracts: Certain contractual restrictions involving research, breeding, experimentation, seed saving, and propagation would become unenforceable for agreements entered into after enactment.
Existing protections: The bill would not automatically invalidate already-issued patents. Its patent provisions would apply to applications pending when the bill became law and applications filed afterward.
Why it matters to PSA members: The proposal could affect plant breeding, variety commercialization, research access, licensing, and seed-related agreements, depending on how a business currently protects and uses plant material.
What happens next: Members should watch for House Judiciary Committee activity, amendments, additional cosponsors, or other changes in the bill’s legislative status.

Bottom line: H.R. 9681 proposes significant changes to how certain plant innovations could be protected and how some restrictions on the use of plant material could be enforced. It has not passed Congress and is not currently law. Read below for for details.

H.R. 9681, the Fair Seeds for Farmers Act, would change the federal intellectual property protections available for plants, plant varieties, and plant germplasm. It would also make certain contractual restrictions on research, breeding, experimentation, seed saving, and propagation unenforceable. The bill remains a proposal, not law; Congress.gov lists its latest action as referral to the House Judiciary Committee on July 14, 2026.

The Pacific Seed Association is sharing this overview to help members understand the legislation’s provisions, distinguish proposed changes from current requirements, and identify issues relevant to their businesses and research programs. This article is informational and does not express support for or opposition to the bill.

What is the Fair Seeds for Farmers Act?

Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) introduced H.R. 9681 on July 14, 2026, with Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) as an original cosponsor. The bill would amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act by adding a section limiting intellectual property protection for plants.

As of October 14, 2026, Congress.gov lists five cosponsors: Casar, Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Emily Randall (D-WA). The official record shows introduction and committee referral, but no subsequent committee or floor action. It has not passed either chamber or become law.

What would the bill change?

The introduced legislation contains three principal elements: limits on federal protection for plant material, limits on enforcement of certain contracts, and definitions specifying the plant material covered.

Limit federal protection to two existing laws

The bill states that no protection could be provided under federal law for a plant, plant variety, or plant germplasm except under:

The Plant Variety Protection Act.
Chapter 15 of Title 35 of the U.S. Code, commonly known as the Plant Patent Act of 1930.

This would remove utility patent protection as an option for the plant material covered by the legislation, while retaining protection available under the two named laws. Its wording extends beyond seeds alone: it expressly addresses plants, plant varieties, and plant germplasm.

The distinction matters because utility patents, plant patents, and plant variety protection are different forms of intellectual property protection. Utility patents can cover plant varieties and certain plant-related inventions, while plant patents protect qualifying asexually reproduced plants. Plant variety protection provides a separate framework for qualifying new, distinct, uniform, and stable varieties. These protections have different requirements and scopes.

H.R. 9681 therefore would not eliminate all intellectual property protection for plant varieties. Rather, it would restrict the federal frameworks available for covered material.

Make specified contractual restrictions unenforceable

The bill would also prevent enforcement of contractual obligations or agreements allowable under the two retained laws when those agreements limit the use of plants, plant varieties, plant germplasm, or other biological material for:

Research.
Breeding.
Experimentation.
Seed saving.
Propagation

This provision is separate from the proposed limitation on patent protection. It addresses the enforceability of specified contractual restrictions, rather than simply whether a patent may be issued.

The language should not be read as eliminating every seed contract or every restriction on commercial activity. It identifies particular uses and retains the two named statutory protection systems. How those provisions would interact with specific licensing, production, or research agreements would require careful legal analysis if the bill advances.

Define plant germplasm and plant variety

The legislation defines “germplasm” as plant material capable of propagation, including seeds, pollen, tubers, or rootstock for use in breeding, conservation, or research.

Its definition of “plant variety” addresses a distinguishable plant grouping defined by characteristics resulting from a genotype or combination of genotypes and suitable for propagation unchanged. The bill specifies that a variety may be represented by seeds, transplants, plants, tubers, tissue-culture plantlets, and other matter.

These definitions help establish the scope of the proposed restrictions and demonstrate that the legislation could be relevant to multiple types of plant material—not only commercially sold seed.

Would existing patents and contracts be affected?

The effective-date provisions are important to understanding the proposal.

As introduced, the bill would apply to patent applications pending on the date of enactment and applications filed on or after that date. It states that the changes would not affect the validity of patents issued on applications outside that category. In practical terms, it would not invalidate already-issued patents solely because of the new limitation.

The contract provisions would apply to obligations or agreements entered into on or after enactment. The introduced text does not extend that effective-date provision to agreements entered into before enactment.

These distinctions mean that issued patents, pending patent applications, existing agreements, and future agreements should not be treated as interchangeable when assessing potential effects.

What outcomes does the legislation establish—and what remains uncertain?

The one-page summary provided with the bill describes supporters’ goals as increasing farmers’ control over seed use, strengthening independent breeding and research, and addressing seed and food costs. Those statements describe the rationale offered for the legislation; they are not established economic outcomes.

The operative bill text changes legal protections and contract enforceability. It does not establish seed-price limits, require particular reductions in food prices, or provide a quantified assessment of effects on breeding investment, competition, or research access. Congress.gov currently lists no Congressional Budget Office cost estimate for the bill.

For members, the central policy question is how the proposed framework would balance access to plant material with protection for breeding investment. Evaluating that question requires distinguishing the bill’s actual provisions from predictions about their eventual market effects.

Why is this relevant to PSA members?

The proposal concerns legal tools used in plant breeding, variety commercialization, research access, and seed-related agreements. Its relevance would depend on the plant material involved, the protection currently used, and the terms and timing of individual agreements.

Questions for members to consider include:

Which products or breeding materials rely on utility patent protection?
Are any relevant patent applications pending?
Which future agreements would restrict one or more of the uses named in the bill?
How would retained plant patent or plant variety protection affect existing commercialization strategies?
What clarification would be needed concerning research access, seed saving, propagation, and licensing?

These are review questions, not conclusions that every member would experience the same effects. The introduced language establishes a proposed legal framework, but it does not resolve every application to individual business arrangements.

What should members watch next?

The next developments to monitor are any House Judiciary Committee activity, amendments or revised bill text, additional cosponsors, and changes in the official legislative status. As of this update, Congress.gov shows only the introduced version and the July 14 committee referral.

Members can review the introduced text and follow the bill’s progress through the H.R. 9681 page on Congress.gov. For now, the legislation itself creates no new compliance requirements because it has not become law.

This overview reflects the introduced bill and the legislative record available on October 14, 2026. It is intended for member education, not legal advice. Members evaluating specific patents, applications, or agreements should consult qualified legal counsel.