U.S. Code > Title 7 Agriculture > CHAPTER 57—PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION (§§ 2321—2583) > SUBCHAPTER III—PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION AND RIGHTS (§§ 2531—2583) > Part L—Remedies for Infringement of Plant Variety Protection, and Other Actions (§§ 2561—2570) > § 2562. Presumption of validity; defenses

§ 2562. Presumption of validity; defenses

(a) Certificates of plant variety protection shall be presumed valid. The burden of establishing invalidity of a plant variety protection shall rest on the party asserting invalidity.
(b) The following shall be defenses in any action charging infringement and shall be pleaded:
(1) noninfringement, absence of liability for infringement, or unenforceability;
(2) invalidity of the plant variety protection in suit on any ground specified in section 2402 of this title as a condition for protectability;
(3) invalidity of the plant variety protection in suit for failure to comply with any requirement of section 2422 of this title;
(4) that the asserted infringement was performed under an existing certificate adverse to that asserted and prior to notice of the infringement; and
(5) any other fact or act made a defense by this chapter.