Members of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA; Washington, DC) Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology (ACAB) played host in July to another round in the hot debate over the “terminator” technology, which is patented jointly by USDA and the seed company, Delta & Pine Land. The patents covering this technology broadly protect several genetic manipulations that can render plant seeds sterile or can control gene expression in specific plant tissues. With their main concerns focused on seed sterilization-related issues, activists and some ACAB members are insisting that USDA either abandon these patents or impose various conditions on companies that obtain licenses to develop commercial products through use of this technology. In one non-binding vote, ACAB members recommended that USDA restrict such licenses to uses in which no heirloom varieties are at stake and the plants being engineered self-pollinate rather than out-cross. However, a potentially more far-reaching issue looms for the industry: What happens if USDA and other federal agencies begin imposing revised conditions after patents are granted and well after initial cooperative technology agreements have been signed? USDA officials are expected to announce their plans for terminator-related licensing sometime in the next few months.