If a seed can grow again, why might permission not travel with it?
Buying a seed gives you something that can make more of itself. In Bowman v. Monsanto, the US Supreme Court had to decide whether buying patented soybeans also gave the buyer permission to reproduce the patented invention.
Questions you could explore
- Why did the court distinguish using an item from making new copies?
Start reading
- Supreme Court of the United States / Justia mirrorBowman v. Monsanto Co., Supreme Court opinion, May 13, 2013
The 2013 judgment explains the facts and the patent-exhaustion issue in this US seed case. Its reasoning is not a rule that every farmer everywhere needs permission to save any seed.
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