Almost ten years agao, biotechnology giant Monsanto appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada, and asserted its patent rights. The result was Monsanto v. Schmeiser. The Supreme Court, in a nutshell, held that Monsanto owned its seeds, and therefore when others re-used their seeds, they would be reproducing their patented product without permission.
The case generated much academic and professional commentary. Now, the Americans are about to experience the same (or similar) issue at their Supreme Court. As this story also explains, the stakes are high as ever. (h/t How Appealing for both stories).
The business of biotechnology requires a lot of litigation it seems. The Centre for Food Safety reports that:
- As of January 2013, Monsanto, alleging seed patent infringement, had filed 144 lawsuits involving 410 farmers and 56 small farm businesses in at least 27 different states.
It will be interesting to see what the US Supreme Court does. If it overtunrs the lower court's holding that Monsanto is in the right, this will cause a revolution in patent law. It would also cause a conflict with our Supreme Court's holding. On the other hand, it may just affirm the lower court's decision. This, of course, begs the question of why they decided to hear the case in the first place. Stay tuned!
