+ - The Supreme Court to rule on Monsato Seed Patents-> 1
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Fluffeh
Fluffeh writes "Can a farmer commit patent infringement just by planting soybeans he bought on the open market? This week, the Supreme Court asked the Obama administration to weigh in on the question. The Court is pondering an appeals court decision saying that such planting can, in fact, infringe patents. Last year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled, as it had on several previous occasions, that patent exhaustion did not cover second-generation seeds. The Supreme Court has now asked the Solicitor General, the official in charge of representing the Obama administration before the Court, to weigh in on the case."
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Appeals court isn't dumb (Score:1)
But there's no reason given for their surprising decision. It sounds like this is exactly the circumstances that would be allowed by patent exhaustion. Anybody got a clue?