Washington, DC
December 10, 2008
The Plant Variety Protection Act
provides for a "Plant Variety Protection Board" to be appointed
by the Secretary of Agriculture. The duties of the Board are to:
(1) advise the Secretary
concerning the adoption of rules and regulations to
facilitate the proper administration of the Act;
(2) make advisory decisions for the Secretary on appeals
concerning decisions on applications by the PVPO and on
requests for emergency public-interest compulsory licenses;
and
(3) advise the Secretary on any other matters under the
rules and regulations.
The Act provides that "The Board
shall consist of individuals who are experts in various areas of
varietal development covered by this Act." The term "various
areas" is interpreted to include plant breeding and seed
increase, certification, merchandising, and use. The Act also
provides that the membership "shall include farmer
representation and shall be drawn approximately equally from the
private or seed industry sector and from the sector of
government or the public" For additional information, see
enclosed Departmental Regulation No. 1042-53.
The PVPO Board consists of 14 members, each of whom is appointed
for a 2-year period, with no member appointed for more than
three 2-year periods. The term of the present board will expire
in December 2008. The first meeting of the new Board will most
likely be held in the spring/summer of 2009.
In order to provide the Secretary of Agriculture a broad choice,
from a diverse group of applicants, in appointing Board members,
the PVPO is asking for nominations of person(s) for membership
on the Board, to serve for two years from the date of
appointment. Expenses will be covered by USDA.
To ensure that the recommendations of the Board take into
account the needs of the diverse groups served by the USDA (from
research and production to trade, use, and consumption), PVPO
seeks nominees, to the extent practicable, with demonstrated
ability to represent minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities.
In order to ensure the integrity of the process, the Department
of Agriculture requires a clearance for each nominee. The
minimum data required to begin this clearance process are the
nominee's name, date of birth, home address and telephone, and
Social Security number. All nominees must be US citizens. Formal
clearance, necessary before a name is submitted to the
Secretary, requires a completed
Form AD 755, "Background Information", for each nominee. A
weblink for Form AD 755 is provided here. An original and one
copy are required for each nominee. Major sources of income must
be indicated.
Please submit full nominations with completed AD 755 background
information forms not later than February 15, 2009, although
PVPO would be delighted to have informal notification of
nominations as soon as possible. If completion of the AD 755
creates an obstacle to the nomination of an otherwise
appropriate candidate, the form can be filled in by hand. The
nominee must sign the AD 755 form.
Final selection of members will be made by the Secretary from
nominations submitted and from other proposals.
Attached Links or Files
- Dept. Regulation No. 1042-53,
PVPO Board Charter
-
List of current PVPO Board members
-
Form AD 755, Background information |
|
