Suit Against Monsanto Dismissed

A law suit brought against Monsanto by the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association and dozens of other plaintiff growers and organizations has been dismissed. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York took Monsanto at its word. That word being 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."

The plaintiffs feared a patent-infringement lawsuit in the event Monsanto’s traits happened to enter their fields inadvertently through, for example, cross-pollination. However, the court rejected the lawsuit finding that the 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.

David Snively, Monsanto's Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, says – this ruling tore down a historic myth which is commonly perpetuated against our business by these plaintiffs and other parties, noting that not only were such claims unsubstantiated but, more importantly, they were unjustified.