Monsanto Takes One on the Chin

Monsanto, the worldwide agricultural biotech company headquartered in St. Louis, is known for its aggressive campaign of suing scores of farmers and competitors to halt and seek damages for what it claims are unauthorized uses of its genetically engineered seeds. A study by the D.C.-based Center for Food Safety and various news accounts have reported how Monsanto has sued farmers whose crops were accidentally contaminated by neighboring farmers' use of Monsanto seeds.

Monsanto lost an appeal last week in one of its suits when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower-court judgment finding no patent infringement by nine seed or biotech company defendants, including Syngenta Seeds, Garst Seed Co., Golden Harvest Seeds, and Garwood Seed Co. Monsanto's suit had claimed patent infringement relating to genetically engineered herbicide-resistant corn. But the court found that Syngenta had infringed no independent patent claims due to Monsanto's own prior actions.

Filled with fun facts about "monocot plant cells" and "chimeric gene claims," the Federal Circuit's unanimous opinion ruled that each side will pay its own legal costs. Donald Dunner, of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner in the District, argued the case for the defendants.

Comments

[Lynn]

We in our generational farming family can't tell you how THRILLED we are that Monsanto is getting what they deserve in the courts! This company is one that needs to be taken down a thousand notches for all the hurt and damage they have done to farmers and Americans in general...the WORLD. Their part in pushing the National Animal Identification System on unsuspecting independent animal owners/farmers is yet another insidious side to this mega-agri corporation. They are bent on driving out even the tiniest bit of perceived competition with no care or thought to what Constitutional freedoms and liberties they are stomping all over. This is a dangerous company - just our humble opinion. For more NAIS info, arkansasanimalproducers dot 8k dot com - look at their page titled "Corporate Hostile Takeover".

And we agree with the poster who said the farmers and seed companies now need to sue Monsanto for the damages to their crops/businesses/reputations.

[esbee]

I really hope Monsanto loses. Did they create the plants? No, God did and they are trying to steal from him?
Now that I have lost all those who do not believe in God, here is something we all need to be aware of ...Monsanto is in league with corporate agriculture and microchip makers to bring us a program guaranteed to wipe out the family farm. And it will cost us not only choice and quality of food, but basic constitutional freedoms as well. Called NAIS, (national animal identification system) it will put livestock owners under more surveillance than the illegals, drug dealers or child molesters. Thhis scheme was cooked up for every last animal owner in the US just so corporate agriculture can benefit and sell their meat globally. While they get a free ride, the rest of us who own even one livestock animal will have to register our premises, microchip each critter and file birth, death and movement reports within 24 hours or face huge fines. (Big ag gets one lot number per group of animals.) You will not find news of this program on mainstream media. See nonais dot org for more info.

[Anita Janes]

WAY TO GO... about time Monsanto gets what they deserve... Now some of these farmers and seed companies need to turn the tables on Monsanto and sue them for contaminating their crops and causing damage to their seed crops with their idea of seeds...