PUBPAT > Monsanto Patents Asserted Against American Farmers Rejected By Patent Office — There is finally good news for the American Farmer.
The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has rejected four key Monsanto patents related to genetically modified crops that PUBPAT challenged last year because the agricultural giant is using them to harass, intimidate, sue – and in some cases literally bankrupt – American farmers. In its Office Actions rejecting each of the patents, the USPTO held that evidence submitted by PUBPAT, in addition to other prior art located by the Patent Office’s Examiners, showed that Monsanto was not entitled to any of the patents.
Monsanto has filed dozens of patent infringement lawsuits asserting the four challenged patents against American farmers, many of whom are unable to hire adequate representation to defend themselves in court. The crime these farmers are accused of is nothing more than saving seed from one year’s crop to replant the following year, something farmers have done since the beginning of time.
found by Mad Dog Mike
Good. Once seed is purchased should lose all claim. This is like selling paint then trying to limit what you can paint with it. Ridiculous.
Wait. You mean the Patent office can reject patents? … Or is this the first time?
couldn’t have happened to a worse gang of a-holes
Fuck Monsanto. I hate industrial agriculture companies.
If Soylent Green is ever a real thing, Monsanto will be the first to make it.
Overdue!
Hmmm, they might get an idea from the RIAA for copy protection. You buy the seed for your farm and are allowed to copy it once for your home garden, and once for your portable garden… everything will be portable in the future 🙂
I’m a backyard gardener and I’ve bought seeds from seed catalogs that have said on the package that they are patented. The thing with some seeds is that if you save the seeds from the years before crop, they may not grow right. The second years crop could be genetically inferior. I’ve tried to do this with corn and sunflowers and the crop came out lousy the second time around. As I found out later on from other gardeners that this was on purpose.
Good stuff !!!
Now if we could get a court to declare that some of these Terms of Use (Service) are unfair and unenforceable too. Especially cell phone contracts.
#7 – Most seed companies would if they could, but that sounds more like normal PITA hybrid seeds.
Yet the MPAA and RIAA continue to be allowed to pay for laws that prevent citizens from using the product they bought, like making backups.
… since the beginning of time.???
This abusive behaviour is new to you ?
What about that farmer in sasketchewan who became a world celebrity after he fought monsanto after saying that the grain seed drifted onto his field