CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS / May 10, 1999
In the first such case expected to proceed to trial, Monsanto has sued a Canadian farmer for growing herbicide-tolerant canola in 1997 and 1998 in violation of its patent. The company claims that Percy Schmeiser, of Bruno, Saskatchewan, improperly obtained and planted seeds for canola that tolerates Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Such "Roundup Ready" seeds are sold only to growers under signed agreements -- which include technology-use fees -- that restrict planting rights to an individual grower for a single season and allow Monsanto to audit crops. Monsanto also alleges that Schmeiser kept seeds from a previous year's crop to replant. In a motion to dismiss the case, Schmeiser claims that investigators for the company trespassed on his land to obtain his property (plant samples) and took samples from a local grain mill for genetic testing. He asserts that he did not improperly obtain any seeds and that Monsanto has no proof of any individuals who supplied him with seeds. Any Roundup Ready canola on his property, he claims, "infiltrated his crops by other means." Monsanto, which says it had a court order allowing its investigators on Schmeiser's land, believes there were 900 acres of transgenic canola. The company has been criticized for pursuing farmers under the licensing agreements, inspecting fields, and collecting fines to protect its technology investment. The issue of patents and restricted seed use -- either through licenses or technology that renders plants sterile, and especially for subsistence farmers or crops -- has become a major problem that the ag biotech industry faces in the development and acceptance of its products. Still, for many years, farmers have been accustomed to using hybrid crops, such as corn, that greatly boost yields, but whose seeds are not replanted.
