Here is a stickier issue. If I plant my unpatented soybeans and they are pollenated primarily by my neighbor’s patented soybeans (due to wind), am I breaking the protection on the patent?
I suspect some organic/heritage farmer out there could try some type of lawsuit if a gmo planted crop near his organic field contaminated his product.
Here is a stickier issue. If I plant my unpatented soybeans and they are pollenated primarily by my neighbors patented soybeans (due to wind), am I breaking the protection on the patent?
This guy fought monsanto all the way to Canadian supreme court - and lost
Soybeans are almost entirely self pollinating; that is: by the time the bean flower blossoms and theoretically could be pollinated by a neighbor’s plant, it has already been pollinated by itself (the bean blossom contains both the stamen and the pistil). If a farmer’s bean crop bears any significant genetic similarity to a patented seed, it was grown from that seed and wasn’t the accidental result of cross pollination.