Vernon Hugh Bowman, Petitioner v. Monsanto Company et al. (569 U.S. 278)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 13, 2013 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 569 U.S. 278 · 133 S. Ct. 1761
- Decided
- May 13, 2013
- Term
- October Term 2012
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Kagan
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice KAGAN delivered the opinion of the Court. Under the doctrine of patent exhaustion, the authorized sale of a patented article gives the purchaser, or any subsequent owner, a right to use or resell that article. Such a sale, however, does not allow the purchaser to make new copies of the patented invention. The question in this case is whether a farmer who buys patented seeds may reproduce them through planting and harvesting without the patent holder's permission. We hold that he may not. I Respondent Monsanto invented a genetic modification that enables soybean plants to survive exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in many herbicides (including Monsanto's own Roundup). Monsanto markets soybean seed containing this altered genetic material as Roundup Ready seed. Farmers planting that seed can use a glyphosate-based herbicide to kill weeds without damaging their crops. Two patents issued to Monsanto cover various aspects of its Roundup Ready technology, including a seed incorporating the genetic alteration. See Supp.App. SA1-21 ( U.S. Patent Nos. 5,352,605 and RE39, 247E ); see also 657 F.3d 1341, 1343-1344 (C.A.Fed.2011). Monsanto sells, and allows other companies to sell, Roundup Ready soybean seeds to growers who assent to a special licensing agreement. See App. 27a. That agreement permits a grower to plant the purchased seeds in one (and only one) season.…
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