BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's top court says Monsanto Co., the world's biggest seed maker, cannot block Argentine farmers from exporting to Europe soy meal containing the company's patented genetic modifications.
A ruling Tuesday by the EU Court of Justice says Monsanto's European patent for the plant genes can't stop sales of the processed final product.
Monsanto designed the RR soybean plant to make it resistant to the weed killer glyphosate. It's widely cultivated in Argentina, where there's no patent protection for Monsanto's changes.
Monsanto filed suit in the Dutch courts after it tested Argentine soy meal sold in the Netherlands and confirmed it came from RR soybean. A Dutch judge asked the EU court to determine the extent of Monsanto's patent rights.
