AMS Seeks Input on Opening the United States Standards for Rough Rice, Brown Rice and Milled Rice for Public Comment
United States Standards for Rice AMS-FGIS-25-0155
Mango Industry Votes to Continue Research and Promotion Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced that first handlers and importers of mangos voted to continue the National Mango Board’s research and promotion program.
USDA Revises the Grade Standards for Orange Juice
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the U.S. Standards for Grades of Orange Juice by changing the limits for Grade B Brix allowances in Pasteurized Orange Juice.
USDA Proposes Rule to Establish Free and Restricted Percentages of Tart Cherries for the 2024-25 Crop Year
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing a rule to establish the free and restricted percentages of tart cherries grown in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin that handlers may purchase from, or handle on behalf of, tart cherry growers during the 2024-25 crop year.
Termination of the Master Scale Testing Program
After consideration of public comments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will be terminating its master scale testing program and closing the master scale depot in Chicago, Ill. This action aligns with AMS’s Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) mission to streamline official service delivery and return to its core functions and services mandated by the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA).
Accessing Patented Seed or Plant Material from an International Depositary Authority
To get a patent in the United States, the Patent Act requires patent applicants to include enough written information that a person of ordinary skill in the art could make and use the invention. This description, commonly known as “enablement,” is an essential component of the intellectual property system, which aims to create an incentive to innovate while delivering the benefits of the innovation to the public. With biological materials, a person may need access to the physical biological material the inventor has created in order to make and use it.
Third-Party Preissuance Submissions of Prior Art
A Preissuance Submission (PIS) is a submission of evidence challenging the validity of the claims made about a pending patent application before the patent is granted. When patent examiners evaluate whether an invention claimed in a patent application is new, useful, and non-obvious, they look for “prior art” — any evidence that what is in the claim has already been described.
Viewing Published Patents and Patent Applications for New Plant Varieties, Traits, and Breeding Methods
In most cases, the USPTO publishes pending patent applications 18 months after the initial filing date. There are several tools the public can use to view published pending patent applications and to stay updated as applications move through the examination process.