Agriculture › Civil Procedure

If Patented Technology Can Copy Itself, When Do Patent Rights Cease?

Patent rights in a patented self-replicating technology, such as seeds, continue until the patent term is ended and not before. On May 13, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bowman v. Monsanto that the patent rights in seeds are...more

Patent Exhaustion Doctrine Does Not Protect Farmers Who Replant Patented Seeds

In a brief, unanimous opinion written by Justice Kagan, the Supreme Court yesterday agreed with Monsanto that the patent exhaustion doctrine does not enable farmers to replant and reproduce patented seeds without the...more

Patent Watch: Bowman v. Monsanto Co.

On May 13, 2013, in Bowman v. Monsanto Co., the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Federal Circuit's affirmance of the district court's judgment that Bowman infringed U.S. Patents No. 5,352,605 and No. RE39,247, which related to...more

Bowman v. Monsanto

Supreme Court Ruling on Patent Rights of Self-Replicating Technology

Full text copy of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bowman v. Monsanto Co. et al that Monsanto’s patent rights extend to future generations of its patented seeds. From Joe Barnes at the Washington Post: “Farmers must pay...more

A Dismissal That’s Sweeter Than Honey

A recent case from the Central District of California brings good news to defendants making preemption arguments under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) in private surgeon general cases. Cardona v. Target...more

Bowman v. Monsanto: Oral Argument

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in Bowman v. Monsanto Co., with Mark P. Walters representing Farmer Bowman, Seth Waxman representing Monsanto, and Melissa Arbus Sherry representing the Department of Justice. ...more

Parties Reiterate Arguments from Certiorari Petitions in Briefs to Supreme Court

On the brink of oral argument before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, it may be helpful to reiterate (as do the parties) the arguments from Petitioner Farmer Bowman and Respondent Monsanto, Inc. in Bowman v. Monsanto....more

California Scores Another Cap-and-Trade Victory

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) scored another victory in its ongoing effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state to 1990 levels under the mandate of AB 32 (the “Global Warming Solutions Act of...more

WLF Files Amicus Brief in Support of Respondents in Bowman v. Monsanto

In an amicus brief filed in support of respondents Monsanto Co. et al. last month, the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) asked the Supreme Court to affirm that petitioner Vernon Bowman infringed Monsanto's patents on...more

It Ain't Necessarily So Down on the Farm: Not All Farmers Agree with Farmer Bowman in Bowman v. Monsanto

The "conventional wisdom" surrounding the Bowman v. Monsanto case now before the Supreme Court on certiorari is that it is "David v. Goliath," the salt-of-the-earth farmer versus the corporate monolith, and an example of the...more

Horne v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Brief For The CATO Institute, National Federation Of Independent Business, Center For Constitutional Jurisprudence, And Reason...

Long-time California raisin farmers Marvin and Laura Horne have been forced to experience firsthand the costs that America’s regulatory state imposes on entrepreneurs, especially innovative members of the agriculture...more

Plaintiffs Still Can't Come to a Nuisance in Illinois

In Toftoy v. Rosenwinkel, the 2nd District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that Illinois' "Right to Farm Act," 740 ILCS 70/1, didn't bar the plaintiff's nuisance suit against the defendants and their cattle farm. ...more

Appellate Court Holds That Regional Water Quality Control Board Approval Of Discharge Permit For Dairies Fails To Satisfy...

In a decision filed on November 6, 2012, the Third District Court of Appeal held that the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (“Regional Water Board”) failed to comply with the State’s anti-degradation policy...more

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Review Case That May Impact Patented Stem Cell Technologies

On October 5, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the issue of whether the Federal Circuit erred by (1) refusing to find patent exhaustion that eliminates the right to control or prohibit the use of an invention...more

In Agricultural Regulation, A "Flawed Rate" is Not a "Filed Rate" For Damage Purposes

Notwithstanding the general applicability of the Filed Rate Doctrine, the Ninth Circuit recently held that it does not necessarily bar producer class actions for overcharges. Whether a given rating authority has “rejected” a...more

Horne v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Brief for the CATO Institute, et al., as Amici Curiae in Support of the Petitioner for Certiorari

Property owners should not be made to suffer a needless, Rube Goldberg-style litigation process to vindicate their constitutional rights. Yet that is exactly what the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks to impose on...more

Seventh Circuit affirms exclusion of unreliable expert testimony on valuation in condemnation actions

On August 21, 2012, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the decision of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois to exclude the testimony of the landowners' expert in...more

McAfee & Taft AgLINC Agriculture & Equine Industry Newsletter - July 2012: The Equal Access to Justice Act - A valuable tool for...

Many farmers are all too familiar with the Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) role in administering the federal crop insurance program. In addition to promulgating regulations, drafting policies, and issuing bulletins affecting...more

The ERISA Litigation Newsletter - July 2012

In This Issue: - Editor's Overview - PPACA Victory Sets The Stage For New Wave of Litigation - Treatment of Deferred Compensation Arrangements as ERISA Plans…Or Not - Rulings, Filings, and Settlements of...more

The cards are on the table – Supreme Court of Canada hears argument on whether to confirm or overrule Moldowan

Were your ears ringing this morning? They might have been if you are a racehorse owner or breeder in Canada, or if you are any other type of farmer who earns income from farming and some other source of income and are thus...more

Ninth Circuit Ruling that Rainwater Runoff from Logging Roads Is a Point Source Discharge Requiring NPDES Permitting Is Under...

In August, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in NEDC v. Brown, in which the court overturned more than 35 years of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations governing storm...more

Interview Agrarisch Magazine januari 2012

Een interview in het Agrarisch Magazine van Cunningham Lindsey, januari 2012...more

Allegations of Conspiracy to Limit Crop Production: Ripe for Analysis Under Capper-Volstead

On December 2, 2011, the district court denied a motion to dismiss antitrust conspiracy claims against potato grower cooperatives in several states. In re Fresh and Process Potatoes Antitrust Litigation, United States...more

Ontario v. Fraser - The Supreme Court of Canada Significantly Narrows the Scope of the Constitutional Protection of Collective...

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Canada released a landmark ruling in Ontario (Attorney General) v. Fraser, 2011 SCC 20 (“Fraser“), concluding that Ontario’s Agricultural Employees Protection Act, 2002 (“AEPA“) is...more

Animal Law Update

Animal Law Update article November 2010...more