NY Times: Saving Seeds Subjects Farmers to Suits Over Patent
In 1998, Mr. McFarling bought 1,000 bags of genetically altered soybean seeds, and he did what he had always done. But the seeds, called Roundup Ready, are patented. When Monsanto, which holds the patent, learned what Mr. McFarling had sown, it sued him in federal court in St. Louis for patent infringement and was awarded $780,000.
The company calls the planting of saved seed piracy, and it says it has won millions of dollars from farmers in lawsuits and settlements in such cases. Mr. McFarling’s is the first to reach a federal appeals court, which will consider how the law should reconcile patented food with a practice as old as farming itself.
Are shrinkwrap licenses for seed packages enforceable? How much of a limited monopoly should be granted to holders of patents on seeds? To what extent should companies like Monsanto be able to control the way their patented seeds are used?
