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HR 4693 108th Congress House

Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004

Official title: To require persons who seek to retain seed harvested from the planting of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and pay fees set by the … Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To require persons who seek to retain seed harvested from the planting of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and pay fees set by the Secretary for retaining such seed, and for other purposes.

Introduced: June 24, 2004 Introduced by: Kaptur, Marcy Democratic · Ohio See on congress.gov
Agriculture and Food Agriculture in foreign tradeDisaster reliefEconomics and Public FinanceEmergency Management
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ExportsFeesForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkGovernment trust fundsImportsIntellectual propertyLawLicensesPatentsPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSeedsTariff
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This bill died when the 108th Congress ended
It never became law before the 108th Congress (2003–2004) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 7, 2004
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research.
Jul 2, 2004
Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
Jun 24, 2004
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jun 24, 2004
Introduced in House
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 Latest action July 7, 2004

Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004 - Requires persons who seek to retain seed harvested from the planting of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and pay related fees.

Establishes in the Treasury the Patented Seed Fund.

Imposes a tariff equal to the difference in fees in any case in which: (1) genetically modified seed on which royalties or licensing or other fees are charged by the patent owner to U.S. purchasers is exported, and (2) no such fees, or lesser fee amounts, are charged to foreign purchasers of the exported seed.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4693: Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004. 108th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4693/
MLA
"H.R. 4693: Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004." 108th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4693/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4693, 108th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4693/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4693: Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004](https://openamerica.io/bill/108-HR-4693/)
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