Once genetically modified crops are used in the U.S.A who legally owns any seeds they may produce?

Question

Pleae tell me if there have been any legal disputes over this issue.

Answer 1

Genetically modified crops do not have seeds that will propagate.  That is the beauty for the companies like Monsanto, you cannot reproduce their seed.

Answer 2

My line of thought would be that if you purchased a plant that gave you the seeds they are yours if you come across them any other way it would be the first owners

Answer 3

the legal question would be huge depending on the importance of the crop! Is it a pea that can be grown in any backyard or tobacco that is still a multubillion dollar a year business!!

Answer 4

the company holdidng the patented rights of the genetically modified seeds legaly owns the seeds

Answer 5

The corporation that owns the patent on the seeds owns them and farmers sign legally binding contracts that say, among other things, that they will not save seed.

There have been hundreds of lawsuits over farmers saving GMO seed (mainly soy and canola as these tend to be open pollinated and come back true). Check out Percy Schmeiser (http://www.percyschmeiser.com) and his story about his fight with Monsanto over GMO's.

Monsanto has successfully won lawsuits over their crops contaminating others (part of the Percy Schmieser cases) as well.

Answer 6

That's an awesome question. Check out "The Future Of Food" It's a pretty good documentary, but I don't honestly know how true it all is. I think you would enjoy it. You can watch it instantly on NetFlix if you have an account.

Answer 7

not sure about some of these answers frist of all genetically modified crops do produce seeds for example roundup ready soybeans the soybeans you produce are yours to sell but not for seed because monsanto owns the patton on the gene in the plant that causes it to be roundup resistant and monsanto recieves a technology fee from every bag of soybean seed sold that has the round up resistant gene you cant even save the seed and use it in your own operation there are laws patton laws which protect monsanto and they have used them to regain loses when someone saves the seed hope this will help

Answer 8

The farmer or producer of the seeds such as soybeans own all of the beans produced. They have the right to do anything they want to with the beans, except use them as seed. In the case of Roundup ready beans, Monsanto spent millions developing the gene used in the beans that make them tolerate Roundup. They pattened the use of the seed, as was their right, so no one else has the legal right to use the beans for planting. Soybeans are a self pollinating crop so the beans produced are exactly like the seed planted, so a farmer could save his own seed to replant and have perfectly good Roundup ready beans, but this would be illegal because it would violate the patten rights. It is so easy to do this 1,000's of  lawsuits from Monsanto have resulted. It is just like if you buy a new CD. You own it and can do anything you want to with your CD except make copies and sell or give  them away. That would violate the record company's copy rights.

Many people think Monsanto is wrong to enforce this, but they are just trying to protect their patten rights. I'm not a fan of Monsanto, but I understand why they are taking these actions, the same any company would do to protect their patten rights. Farmers are not forced to use Roundup ready beans, but if they choose to, then they have to pay for the right.