On May 13, 2013, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Bowman v. Monsanto. The case involved the rights of a patent owner over certain herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, and considered whether a farmer who has purchased the seeds once may then reproduce them for perpetual use (rather than purchasing a new batch each year) without permission from the patent holder.
In an opinion delivered by Justice Kagan, the Court held unanimously that the farmer is not permitted to reproduce the patented seeds without obtaining the patent holder’s permission.
To discuss the case, we have Sean O’Connor, who is a Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law.
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