# MPEP § 2403.02: Plant Material

> Federal · Agency guidance · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2403.02

## Section

- **Citation:** MPEP § 2403.02
- **Heading:** Plant Material
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Agency guidance
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** USPTO MPEP / Chapter 2400 - Biotechnology / MPEP § 2403.02

## Text

Although plant material is included within the scope of the definition
of biological material for purposes of patents for plant inventions under
35 U.S.C.
101
, the rules on deposits are not applicable to applications
filed under the Plant Patent Act (
35 U.S.C. 161
-
164
). The Office
is of the view that a deposit is not required under the present provisions of
35 U.S.C.
162
. Thus, a deposit is not necessary for the grant of a plant
patent under the provisions of
35 U.S.C. 161
-
164
. See also
MPEP §
1605
. As with other biological material deposited for purposes
of patents for inventions under
35 U.S.C. 101
, the deposit of plant
material together with the written specification must enable those skilled in the art to
make and use the claimed invention, in accordance with the requirements of
35 U.S.C.
112
.
As with some types of reproducible biological material, seeds can be
reproduced only after a growing season which may be relatively long. Although the rules
do not specify a specific number of seeds to be deposited to meet the requirements of
these rules, so long as the number of seeds deposited complies with the requirements of
the Budapest Treaty International Depositary Authority (IDA) where the deposit is made,
the USPTO would consider such a compliant submission as satisfying the rules under
37 CFR
1.801
through
1.809
. Note that the American Type
Culture Collection (ATCC), a Budapest IDA, requires a minimum deposit of 625 seeds;
other IDAs may have different minimum requirements. Accordingly, any depositor should
confirm that the number submitted to a specific IDA complies with that IDA's
requirements for seed deposits.
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## Nearby sections

- [MPEP § 2401 Introduction](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2401.md)
- [MPEP § 2402 The Deposit Rules](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2402.md)
- [MPEP § 2403 Deposit of Biological Material](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2403.md)
- [MPEP § 2403.01 Material Capable of Self- Replication](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2403.01.md)
- [MPEP § 2403.02 Plant Material](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2403.02.md)
- [MPEP § 2404 Need or Opportunity to Make a Deposit](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2404.md)
- [MPEP § 2404.01 Biological Material That Is Known and Readily Available to the Public](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2404.01.md)
- [MPEP § 2404.02 Biological Material That Can Be Made or Isolated Without Undue Experimentation](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2404.02.md)
- [MPEP § 2404.03 Reference to a Deposit in the Specification](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2404.03.md)
- [MPEP § 2405 Acceptable Depository](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2405.md)
- [MPEP § 2406 Time of Making an Original Deposit](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2406.md)
- [MPEP § 2406.01 Description in Application Specification](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2406.01.md)
- [MPEP § 2406.02 Deposit After Filing Date - Corroboration](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2406.02.md)
- [MPEP § 2406.03 Possible Loss of U.S. Filing Date in Other Countries](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2406.03.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S2403.02. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.