From a press release:
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has officially dismissed a lawsuit brought by The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) and dozens of other plaintiff growers and organizations against Monsanto Company.
OSGATA and plaintiffs in the case alleged that they did not want to grow crops containing Monsanto’s biotechnology traits but feared a patent-infringement lawsuit in the event the company’s traits happened to enter their fields inadvertently through, for example, cross-pollination. However, the court rejected the lawsuit finding that OSGATA and plaintiffs had engaged in a “transparent effort to create a controversy where none exists.” The Court also held that there was no “case or controversy” on the matter as Monsanto had not taken any action or even suggested to take any action against any of the plaintiffs.
In its ruling, the court cited Monsanto’s long-standing public commitment that “it has never been, nor will it be, Monsanto policy to exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seeds or traits are present in a farmer’s fields as a result of inadvertent means.”
“plaintiffs had engaged in a ‘transparent effort to create a controversy where none exists.'”
That’s what I thought.
…………..
So they say they only average 13 lawsuits per year…how many more times have they strong-armed some farmer out of court? I mean it must never happen since farmers are always rich and are happy to forgo tending to their crops in favor of spending their treasure trove on lawsuits, right?
This ruling is complete BS. The court knows it, Monsanto knows it and the farmers know it. It’s pretty hideous for them to act like they don’t have their own seed police force out and about…covertly spying on farmers and having their way with anyone who does not act according to their plan.
Monsanto are slowly and steadily ensuring our food supply will become more and more controlled by a handful of companies, growing a limited number of crops, that will continue to be highly susceptible to disease, putting huge swaths of the future population at risk.
Crops diversity regional and seasonally-appropriate crops grown by actual farmers will feed the world. Monsanto will destroy our food system forever.