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News :: Agriculture |
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Court to Rule on Schmeiser Case this Friday |
Current rating: 0 |
by Sehvilla
Email: smann (nospam) riseup.net (verified) |
19 May 2004
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This story was forwarded from forbes.com:
http://www.forbes.com/technology/sciences/newswire/2004/05/17/rtr1374291.html
Canada's top court to rule on Monsanto case Friday
Reuters, 05.17.04, 2:16 PM ET
OTTAWA, May 17 (Reuters) - A high-profile legal case over whether a Canadian farmer infringed on biotech patents held by Monsanto Co. (nyse: MON - news - people) will be settled once and for all by Canada's top court on Friday, officials said on Monday.
The seven-year fight between Monsanto and Percy Schmeiser has turned the Saskatchewan farmer into a poster-boy for farmers around the world who want to stop the proliferation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Monsanto has already won two lower-court judgments against Schmeiser, arguing he used its genetically modified canola without a license. The grain has been genetically modified to be resistant to Monsanto's herbicide Roundup.
But Schmeiser says the canola that grew on his farm came from seeds that blew in from other fields or from passing trucks. The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict at 9:45 a.m. (1345 GMT) on Friday.
Monsanto says independent tests of his farm found that 1,030 acres were 95 percent to 98 percent tolerant to Roundup -- a level contested by the farmer.
The dispute initially arose from Schmeiser's 1997 crop, which had a high degree of Roundup Ready canola in it. Schmeiser used some of his harvest to plant his 1998 crop, despite warnings from Monsanto.
Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service |
This work is in the public domain |
