Washington - Vernon Hugh Bowman, a 74-year-old soybean farmer, will have his day in court against Monsanto in the US Supreme Court next year. Bowman was originally sued by Monsanto Co for alleged patent infringement for the use of a genetically modified soybean crop.
Under the company's licensing contract, farmers can only use the product to harvest one round of crops. However, Monsanto sued Bowman because they say he is at fault for planting a second harvest. However, this second harvest came from commercially-purchased "commodity seeds" from a grain elevator that contained, in part, the Roundup Ready GMO seeds.
Apparently you can sell "second-generation" seeds to grain elevators for use as "commodity seeds," and Monsanto doesn't require that there be any restriction on the sale.
However, Monsanto claimed this was infringement, even though the seeds were legally sold to the grain elevator and then from the elevator to Bowman without restrictions.
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http://www.gmwatch.org
