140
Opinion of the Court
repeated use of a protected variety," § 2541(c)(3). See Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994, § 9, 108 Stat. 3142. Practically, this means that hybrids created from protected plant varieties are also protected; however, it is not infringement to use a protected variety for the development of a hybrid. See 7 U. S. C. § 2541(a)(4).11
The PVPA also contains exemptions for saving seed and for research. A farmer who legally purchases and plants a protected variety can save the seed from these plants for replanting on his own farm. See § 2543 ("[I]t shall not infringe any right hereunder for a person to save seed produced by the person from seed obtained, or descended from seed obtained, by authority of the owner of the variety for seeding purposes and use such saved seed in the production of a crop for use on the farm of the person . . ."); see also Asgrow Seed Co. v. Winterboer, 513 U. S. 179 (1995). In addition, a protected variety may be used for research. See 7 U. S. C. § 2544 ("The use and reproduction of a protected variety for plant breeding or other bona fide research shall not constitute an infringement of the protection provided under this chapter"). The utility patent statute does not contain similar exemptions.12
Thus, while the PVPA creates a statutory scheme that is comprehensive with respect to its particular protections and subject matter, giving limited protection to plant varieties that are new, distinct, uniform, and stable, § 2402(a), nowhere does it restrict the scope of patentable subject matter under § 101. With nothing in the statute to bolster their view that
11 It is, however, infringement of a utility patent to use a protected plant in the development of another variety. See infra, at 143.
12 The dissent argues that our "reading would destroy" the PVPA's exemptions. Post, at 155. Yet such bold predictions are belied by the facts. According to the Government, over 5,000 PVP certificates have been issued, as compared to about 1,800 utility patents for plants. Tr. of Oral Arg. 41. Since 1985 the PTO has interpreted § 101 to include utility patents for plants, and there is no evidence that the availability of such patents has rendered the PVPA and its specific exemptions obsolete.
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