[www.huffingtonpost.com]

"WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday that an Indiana farmer violated Monsanto Co.'s patents on soybean seeds resistant to its weed-killer by growing the beans without buying new seeds from the corporation.

The justices unanimously rejected the farmer's argument that cheap soybeans he bought from a grain elevator are not covered by the Monsanto patents, even though most of them also were genetically modified to resist the company's Roundup herbicide.

While Monsanto won this case, the court refused to make a sweeping decision that would cover other self-replicating technologies like DNA molecules and nanotechnologies, leaving that for another day. Businesses and researchers had been closely watching this case in hopes of getting guidance on patents, but Justice Elena Kagan said the court's holding Monday only "addresses the situation before us.""

I'm afraid that, from what I've read of the case, this was decided appropriately; the farmer was trying to pull a fast one on Monsanto, thinking he could buy and breed their seeds without paying for them. I don't understand why the seed distributor, who appears to have committed fraud, wasn't named in the lawsuit . . . I try to focus on the fact that anything that causes farmers to turn to more natural ways of farming soy for livestock feed or human consumption is a good thing. I would be so scared of the repercussions of this if I were a farmer, I'd be finding alternatives to Monsanto soy right quick.

I really think that with this case, in which it has been republicized how far Monsanto will go to protect their "intellectual" property, the tide could be turning against this abominable company.