Supreme Court Gets Monsanto Case

Supreme Court Gets Monsanto Case CROPS Weed Control The U S Supreme Court has agreed to hear an Indiana farmer’s appeal that challenges the scope of Monsanto’s patent rights on its Roundup Ready seeds The company prohibits farmers from saving the “second-generation” seeds from the harvest At issue however are the unusual planting tactics of Indiana farmer Vernon Bowman For several years Bowman purchased Monsanto-licensed seed for his first seasonal soybean crop and abided by the agreement not to save second-generation seeds But for his late season “second crop” of soybeans Mr Bowman tried a different approach: he bought and planted “commodity seeds” from a grain elevator Those soybean seeds were a mix and included some that contained Monsanto’s technology He would spray the crop with Roundup and then save seeds from the plants that survived to use the next year Monsanto argued that Bowman’s action infringed upon its patents and lower federal courts agreed In a petition to the Supreme Court Mr Bowman argued that the lower court rulings gave Monsanto an unfair and unprecedented level of patent protection for its seeds after they had already been sold into commerce Monsanto said Mr Bowman’s position would eviscerate its patent rights The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case over the objections of the Obama administration which had urged the justices to leave the lower court rulings in place Wall Street Journal

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