# Little guy vs Monsanto



## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Here's an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding farmer Vernon Bowman vs Monsanto arguing about Round-up ready crops before the Supreme Court.

The last sentence is a riot!

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/the-farmer-vs-monsanto-a-supreme-court-showdown/article_529543b2-b224-5b1b-acfe-b7b2896805af.html

Ralph


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Got my fingers crossed for Bowman. Like to see a little turmoil in the seed tech order of things. Keep us abreast Ralph. The last line is just unreal.

Regards, Mike


----------



## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

That guy is my neighbor. Lives about 5 miles from me. If he would have just planted hisbeans and kept quiet he would have been fine. Instead, he went the coffee shop and bragged to everyone about what he did. Monsanto doesn't like to be taunted.


----------



## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

Thinking I should patent dirt air water and sun! Then sue Monsanto for using it without license. Martin


----------



## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

haybaler101 said:


> That guy is my neighbor. Lives about 5 miles from me. If he would have just planted hisbeans and kept quiet he would have been fine. Instead, he went the coffee shop and bragged to everyone about what he did. Monsanto doesn't like to be taunted.


A guy here did the same coffee shop braging.He was buying 10 bags of new seed per yr and keeping seed back."How can they catch me"Well he got caught.Thought he could fight it.Lawyer told him to just pay it.


----------



## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Nitram said:


> Thinking I should patent dirt air water and sun! Then sue Monsanto for using it without license. Martin


You know---you might be on to something there. Some of the patents have gotten completely outrageous.

Trading Technologies, a software development/commodities firm in Chicago, went so far as to patent the character fonts, screen colors and other similar items on their trade processing software.

They then sued Rolfe & Nolan, who I sold my system to, and which was copyrighted, for patent infringement. And prevailed!

Copyrights and patents are both worthless and abused at the same time. Somewhere in the late 80's or 90's, the patent law was changed such that your patent was revealed at the time of application. Previously, it was kept secret by the PTO for two years. When the law was changed, the Chinese and Japanese had large staffs who scarfed up copies immediately of every patent submitted.

Ralph


----------



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

So if I were to move to Indiana and bought some commoditiy beans and planted them could Monsanto come after me? I've never signed a thing with them. I would think they would sue the elevator or wherever he bought the beans also.


----------



## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Teslan said:


> So if I were to move to Indiana and bought some commoditiy beans and planted them could Monsanto come after me? I've never signed a thing with them. I would think they would sue the elevator or wherever he bought the beans also.


You may have not done anything wrong.But Monsatan may want to make a example out of you.Send a room full of lawyers after you and it will cost you a fortune defending yourself.


----------



## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

It will be interesting to see what happens. I am on the fence on this one. It's a damn if you do and damn if you don't. I think Bowman wanted to take on Big M. We will see. Lots of info on Newagtalk.


----------



## ANewman (Sep 20, 2012)

How do they have a case against him? He bought the seed from a grain co then planted them. I understand he would have been breech of contract if he saved seed to replant. Anyone off the street could buy some commodity beans and plant them. They would have never signed the contract required by Monsanto. Would Monsanto chase them?


----------



## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

I have an issue with anyone or company that sells a product an then "reserves" the right to control what you do with it. Can you sell something and still own it? You can lease it and do that but not sell it. Martin


----------



## NewBerlinBaler (May 30, 2011)

[sup]I'm not a lawyer but my old employer required me to learn about intellectual property rights. The purpose of patent law is to give a person or company exclusive marketing rights (in effect, a monopoly) *for a certain period of time* so development costs can be recovered. As the article points out, this is to encourage innovation. The key here is that there has to be a time limit, typically 7 years, for the patent to be in effect. If there's no time limit, one person or company could - and likely would - take over an entire industry. What would the world be like today if everyone on the planet had to pay a royalty fee to Thomas Edison's estate each and every time a generator, motor, light bulb, radio, etc, etc, etc, etc is turned on?[/sup]

[sup]To apply patent law to this case is quite simple: after the patent expires, that's it. Monsanto's influence is done and it's everyone's game.[/sup]

[sup]Back in the 1980s, the folks in Washington should have updated our intellectual property rights laws when personal computers were on the horizon. Instead, they were asleep at the switch. Microsoft should have been awarded patents for their products. But because software is not a physical object you can touch, these products were awarded Copyrights - which never expire. This is how Bill Gates was able to amass hundreds of billions of dollars of personal wealth - obscene! It's the same old "No Expiration Date" problem we're seeing here.[/sup]

[sup]If you want to learn about some really perverse legal tactics used by Monsanto, Google "Percy Schmeizer" and read about his story. It's much worse than what's happening with Vernon Bowman.[/sup]


----------



## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

Teslan said:


> So if I were to move to Indiana and bought some commoditiy beans and planted them could Monsanto come after me? I've never signed a thing with them. I would think they would sue the elevator or wherever he bought the beans also.


Monsanto won't even know you did it unless you OPEN YOUR BIG MOUTH! This guy is a blowhard and he wanted to make sure everyone knew what he was doing including Monsanto. There have been thousands of acres of pirated soybeans planted in this country and Monsanto has prosecuted very few cases.


----------



## askinner (Nov 15, 2010)

Lol, I am still gob smacked by that last sentence!! I've got it!! I'm going to patent plants that actually DO grow themselves, and sue monsanto if any of there products happens to propegate without help!!

I can't see how monsanto has leg to stand on considering he bought beans that were not the product of his original beans, or even marketed as such. Can they sue a transport company if a truck carrying beans from an elevator spills some on the side of the road and they grow? Oh, that's right, they don't do that...


----------



## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

New thought patent my calves and anyone who buys them and raises calves out of my heifers I get to sue them! Bet I would have buyers lining up for them!!!! Lol


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I think like Berlinbaler said, there has to be a time limit.....like the drug companies perhaps, no wonder the drug companies are spilling over into ag........sounds like a sweeter deal. I'm glad I ain't gotta pay the fellers that came up with hybrid Bermuda grasses.....between fertilizer, tractor dealers, fuel, DuPont and the likes, ain't no room for nobody else, not even me!


----------



## 8gross (Sep 12, 2011)

Were just slaves to wealthy. Everything is "hunky-dory" until somebody steps out of line. But I'm curious if this is going to lead us down the path of collective farming. Probably won't but it seems to feel that way with a company with that much power.


----------



## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Followup article from St Louis Post-Dispatch this morning:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/skeptical-justices-put-farmer-on-the-spot-in-monsanto-case/article_9601cd61-2ccc-54f5-8489-dd314f6b8374.html

Makes me wonder: If beans are exported to South America or China, how does Monsanto enforce its patent there? There's no reason why they wouldn't replant them.

Ralph


----------



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

rjmoses said:


> Followup article from St Louis Post-Dispatch this morning:
> 
> http://www.stltoday....314f6b8374.html
> 
> ...


They don't, they just screw the US farmer by expecting only us to pay for R&D that the rest of the world is using thru either saving seed or pirated seed.


----------



## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

mlappin said:


> They don't, they just screw the US farmer by expecting only us to pay for R&D that the rest of the world is using thru either saving seed or pirated seed.


If it's any consolation, the pharmaceutical companies do the same thing. That's why you can get the same product from Canada for a lot less.


----------



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Mike120 said:


> If it's any consolation, the pharmaceutical companies do the same thing. That's why you can get the same product from Canada for a lot less.


Not really, far as consolation.


----------



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Wonder what would happen if American farmers just decided to go John Galt on Monsanto. Wonder what they would do if all of us would say we are just going to pay for the seed, we won't pay the tech fee.


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

According to this Ag.com post response, Monsanto lost their court case in Brazil over Tech Fee expiration.

Regards, Mike

http://community.agr...mers/m-p/310995


----------



## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

mlappin said:


> Wonder what would happen if American farmers just decided to go John Galt on Monsanto. Wonder what they would do if all of us would say we are just going to pay for the seed, we won't pay the tech fee.


Farmers get together,never will happen.We could control the world if we did.They have used their lawyers to keep us scared over the yrs.Training us.


----------



## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

somedevildawg said:


> I think like Berlinbaler said, there has to be a time limit....


If I recall the basic RR1 patent is coming due soon. Big M has several more after that one for different traited seeds. As long as they keep on producing new traits & keep on patenting them they will always have a way to bend you over. As long as farmers insist on planting patented seed they will end up paying the fee.

If ever farmer in the US refused to plant any RR, or LL seed they wouldn't have a tech fee. But guess what, people realize there is more money per acre using traited seed, so they plant it.

There is some good variaties out there that don't have the tech fee, but they require more labor & steel. It's not as easy or fast as just spraying roundup.


----------

