On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in what could be a landmark intellectual property law case involving patented seeds - Bowman v. Monsanto. A prior farmdoc daily posting provided background information on this case that has been making its way through the federal courts. Although it may be several months until the Supreme Court issues its decision, a copy of the transcripts from the oral argument is available here, as well as a link to the written briefs filed by the parties and other groups with an interest in this case. Groups filing briefs in advance of oral argument in support of Bowman included: the Center for Food Safety, National Farmers Union, American Antitrust Institute, and the Public Patent Foundation, among others. Groups filing briefs in support of Monsanto included: among others, the American Soybean Association, Illinois Soybean Association, the Software Alliance, and Pioneer Hi-Bred Int'l, Inc.

A brief audio discussion of the case with Bryan Endres and Todd Gleason is also available Listen to MP3 podcast.

Issued by A. Bryan Endres
Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics
University of Illinois