특허권 국내소진: 미국 연방대법원 유전자변형 대두종자 판결

Patent National Exhaustion: Genetically Modified Soybean Seed Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court

At this paper, plaintiff, Monsanto Company("Monsanto") brought a patent violation action against defendant, Vernon Hugh Bowman ("Bowman") who used those soybeans for planting of a second season corps, although those seeds had been sold to grain dealer without restriction. License for patented trait specially prohibited licensee farmers from saving seed or otherwise providing anyone with those soybeans for purposes of next year's planting and no unconditional sales of soybeans had occurred. The District Court and the Federal Circuit held that 'first sale' patent right exhaustion doctrine did not apply to sale of soybeans that, contained patent trait, by grain dealers to farmers as commodity who used them for planting. It permits an owner of patent to sue farmers for patent infringement when they plant seeds that have been purchased on the open market in authorized and unrestricted sales. The Supreme Court, Justice Kagan, delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court that patent exhaustion doctrine did not permit farmer to reproduce the seeds through planting and harvesting without he patent holder's permission. The judgment of the Federal Circuit should be affirmed.