Supreme Court seems sympathetic to Monsanto
February 19, 2013 | 06:33 PM
Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical Tuesday of arguments by a farmer whose attorney argued isn't violating a Monsanto patent by buying soybeans to plant with the expectation that those plants would carry the Roundup Ready trait, DTN reported today.
The court was hearing a case involving Vernon Bowman, a 75-year-old farmer from Indiana, who bought soybeans from a local grain elevator as a cheaper way to get a second planting out of acreage following up his winter wheat.
Monsanto Co. sued Bowman in 2007 for patent infringement. Monsanto won at both the district court and on appeal. The initial ruling against Bowman was for $84,456.
The Supreme Court opted to hear the case because of its unique nature as the first patent case involving a self-replicating technology, in this case, soybeans.
At the court session, Chief Justice John Roberts said if anyone could duplicate a seed then, “Why in the world would you spend money to improve a seed?”
Bowman’s attorney, Mark Walters, said Monsanto doesn’t have the right to carry forward its patent in second or third-generation seeds after the first licensed seeds have been sold and planted.
The court was hearing a case involving Vernon Bowman, a 75-year-old farmer from Indiana, who bought soybeans from a local grain elevator as a cheaper way to get a second planting out of acreage following up his winter wheat.
Monsanto Co. sued Bowman in 2007 for patent infringement. Monsanto won at both the district court and on appeal. The initial ruling against Bowman was for $84,456.
The Supreme Court opted to hear the case because of its unique nature as the first patent case involving a self-replicating technology, in this case, soybeans.
At the court session, Chief Justice John Roberts said if anyone could duplicate a seed then, “Why in the world would you spend money to improve a seed?”
Bowman’s attorney, Mark Walters, said Monsanto doesn’t have the right to carry forward its patent in second or third-generation seeds after the first licensed seeds have been sold and planted.
