10. Is there any penalty for claiming a variety is plant-variety protected when it is not?

Answer: In Section 128 of the Plant Variety Protection Act (pdf) - a cease and desist order may be issued; followed by a fine if the order is violated. Please provide the PVPO with more information if you are aware of any alleged violations. In particular you should search for Sec. 128.1 False Marking; Cease and Desist Orders.

11. If a company applies for PVP and the application is turned down because it cannot be distinguished from other varieties, and if the other variety is protected, can the company still sell seed of that turned down variety, or would that be considered a violation of the protected variety's protection?

Answer: This issue is addressed in section 111 of the Plant Variety Protection Act (pdf) regarding infringements and the remedy is addressed in section 112.

12. What actions are people prohibited from taking with a protected variety?

Answer: Without explicit consent from the owner, a person is prohibited from: selling, marketing, offering, delivering, consigning, exchanging, or exposing the variety for sale. In addition, a person is prohibited from soliciting an offer to buy the variety or transfer or possess it in any way. It is also illegal to import or export the variety, sexually multiply it, propagate it by tuber, use the variety in producing (as distinguished from developing) a hybrid, or condition the variety for the purpose of propagation.