Black day for higher life:
Monsanto's Supreme Court win

The Canadian Supreme Court has affirmed Monsanto's right to 
prosecute farmers who are found to have GM crops growing on their 
land — whether they wanted them or not. Civil society and 
farmers' organisations worldwide reacted with outrage at the 5-4 
decision, handed down on Friday, May 21. The decision is of 
particular interest to Australians, as it illustrates the 
potential power of the new patent laws in the Free Trade 
Agreement with the USA.

Gene giant Monsanto had accused Canadian farmers Percy and Louise 
Schmeiser of violating the company's patent on genetically 
modified canola (rapeseed).

Percy and Louise did not want the Monsanto's GM canola seeds that 
invaded their property, and they did not try to benefit from the 
herbicide-tolerant trait in the GM seed (that is, they didn't 
spray Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller), but still Monsanto 
prosecuted them for patent infringement and demanded a portion of 
their income.

The Schmeisers waged a courageous, seven-year battle against 
Monsanto that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

According to Monsanto: "[We] originally pursued this case in the 
Federal Court of Canada because Mr. Schmeiser knowingly infringed 
Monsanto's patents on Roundup Ready technology by planting 1030 
acres of Roundup Ready canola without paying the required license 
fee for using the technology".

The Supreme Court found that certain aspects of Monsanto's patent 
had been infringed, and dismissed the Schmeisers' appeal against 
a Federal Court finding in favour of Monsanto.

However, the good news is that the Schmeisers don't have to pay a 
cent to Monsanto.

The Court also concluded that the Schmeisers had not attempted to 
benefit from the GM seed that blew onto their property, and 
agreed that the corporation is not entitled to damages.

The Court also ruled that each side should pay its own costs.

This was a great relief to the embattled family and also a sharp 
setback for Monsanto.

Global precedent

Canada's Supreme Court decision has set a global precedent that 
will be studied closely by jurists, and still has grave 
implications for farmers and society everywhere the Gene Giants -
- Monsanto, AstaZeneca, DuPont, Novartis and Aventis — do 
business.

"The decision not only undermines the rights of farmers 
worldwide, but also global food security and biological 
diversity", lamented Pat Mooney, Executive Director of ETC Group 
(The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration), one 
of the interveners in the case.

"Ironically, the United Nations has declared tomorrow [May 22] to 
be International Biodiversity Day. We should all be wearing 
black."

Now that the Court has ruled in Monsanto's favour the right of 
farmers to save seed — a right that has been upheld for 12,000 
years — will be imperilled and the 1.4 billion people on this 
planet who depend on farm-saved seed for their food security will 
be still more food-insecure.

The decision places the burden of coping with GM contamination on 
the farmer rather than the corporate polluter.

GM pollution — a corporate strategy

In 2002 the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that higher life forms, 
including plants, are not patentable subject matter.

This Supreme Court ruling in favour of Monsanto effectively 
nullifies that decision.

"The Canadian Court goes even further than notoriously monopoly-
friendly US patent law because it finds that a gene patent 
extends to any higher organism that contains the patented gene.

"Monsanto has won an inflatable patent today. They can now say 
that their rights extend to anything its genes get into, whether 
plant, animal or human", said Pat Mooney.

"Under this ruling spreading GM pollution appears to be 
recognised as a viable corporate ownership strategy", said 
Mooney.

World-wide implications

The Court's ruling means that if a farmer is in possession of 
seeds or plants containing a patented gene, the burden is on the 
farmer to prove that s/he is not infringing the company's 
monopoly patent.

"In Monsanto's world, we're all criminals unless a court rules 
otherwise", observes Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group's Mexico office.

"This will come as shocking news to indigenous farmers in Mexico, 
whose maize fields have been contaminated with DNA from 
genetically modified plants, and to farmers everywhere who are 
fighting to prevent genetically modified organisms from 
trespassing in their fields", said Ribeiro.

Monsanto's newspaper ads in Chiapas, Mexico, are already warning 
peasants that if they are found using transgenic seed illegally, 
they risk fines and even prison.

"No doubt Monsanto will say this is a victory for their 
stockholders, but its victory will be short lived. As always, 
Monsanto's hot air is the wind beneath our wings", said Pat 
Mooney.

"This ruling will unite farmers and others opposed to corporate 
control of food and life, and galvanise civil society to take the 
issue out of the courts and back to politicians", said Mooney.

Indeed Monsanto did cheer the verdict, declaring it was a victory 
for farmers!

"We are gratified the Supreme Court of Canada found that 
Monsanto's patent pertaining to the Roundup Ready gene is valid 
and enforceable", said Carl Casale, Executive Vice-President of 
Monsanto.

"The Supreme Court has set a world standard in intellectual 
property protection and this ruling maintains Canada as an 
attractive investment opportunity.

"Patent protection encourages innovations that will lead to the 
next generation of value-added products for Canadian farmers."

Insidious weed

Bees, beetles and blowing winds can carry Monsanto's genetically-
modified canola a good 26 kilometres — and a whole lot farther 
if the transgenic seed or pollen hitches a ride on passing 
trucks, trains or trousers.

After eight summers in Canada's West, GM canola has earned the 
dubious status of a major weed — a common sight in fields, 
boulevards and cemeteries — and even backyard gardens.

"Canola can winter over for 8 years", says ETC Group's Pat Mooney 
in the NGO's Winnipeg headquarters, "meaning GM pollen has 
probably travelled a minimum of 200 km since Monsanto first 
commercialised its patented seed in 1996".

Which is why, Mooney reasons, just about everyone in Canada's 
farming provinces has a direct, personal interest in the May 21 
Supreme Court decision.

"It's not just farmers", insists Mooney. "There are about 5 
million Percy Schmeisers out here [roughly the population of 
Canada's three prairie provinces]. For all any of us know, we 
could have Monsanto's canola in our window boxes."

What about your backyard?

Have Monsanto's GM seeds blown onto your property?

Monsanto claims that anyone who thinks they might have the 
company's GM canola without Monsanto's permission must notify the 
company in order not to infringe Monsanto's patent.

Anyone who suspects they may have Canola growing on their farm or 
in their backyard or even window box — as happened to the 
Schmeisers — can now notify Monsanto that the company's 
uninvited genes may be trespassing.

ETC Group and partner organisations around the world are asking 
concerned people to send Monsanto CEO, Hugh Grant, a letter 
advising him that Monsanto's seeds may be squatting on their 
property. They have produced a form letter for use.

"That puts the ball back in Monsanto's court", Hope Shand of ETC 
Group's North Carolina office adds. "It's up to Monsanto to 
contact the letter-writer and make amends."

"But the form letter doesn't invite Monsanto to do what they did 
to the Schmeisers", Mooney stresses. "Monsanto's seeds are 
trespassing and the company may have to accept a 'Trespass Abuser 
Agreement' making Monsanto responsible for any damages."

You can print out the letter and send it yourself or click on 
"submit" to send the letter by email to Monsanto. ETC Group will 
send all the letters to Monsanto by registered mail.

http://www.etcgroup.org/action4.asp

* * *

ETC — the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and 
Concentration, formerly RAFI, is an international civil society 
organisation headquartered in Canada. The ETC group is dedicated 
to the advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human 
rights. http://www.etcgroup.org.