In April, a lawsuit brought by 5 million farmers against biotech company Monsanto was ruled valid, with Monsanto ordered to repay all royalties paid by farmers on its patented Roundup Ready soybeans since 2004. In a separate case brought by Monsanto to limit the damage, the Brazilian Superior Court in June agreed said that the judgment should apply nationwide.
Monsanto's legal director for Latin America said that "most growers appreciate the flexibility that the [royalty collection] system provides". But the farmers say they have the right to reproduce the seeds without paying royalties under Brazilian law. If the decisions stand, Monsanto could lose billions and the biotech industry as a whole could suffer.
This case was selected as one of Managing IP’s Cases of the Year for 2012.
To see the rest, click on one of the cases below.
The 10 cases of the year
A fillip for the EU pharmaceutical sector
Relief for trade mark owners in red sole saga
Australian TV streaming service held to be illegal
Smartphone war hits front page in the US
Liberalising the EU’s software market
Victory for fair dealing in Canada
Lacoste loses its trade mark in China
Google prevails in Android attack
EU test case clarifies class headings
Ten you might have missed
Canada: Ambiguous claims can invalidate patents
Russia: Certainty on parallel imports
Italy: TV formats win copyright for the first time
First FRAND cases litigated worldwide
Data exclusivity backed by Mexican courts
China: A shift over OEM manufacturing
Authors in the US able to reclaim joint copyrights
