OTTAWA, ONTARIO – Tomorrow, a coalition of NGOs led by the Council of Canadians will present arguments to the Supreme Court of Canada in the Schmeiser vs Monsanto case, which has captivated the international community.

In 2001, the Federal Court of Appeal found that Schmeiser had infringed on Monsanto’s patent rights to its Roundup Ready canola when he saved and planted seeds growing on his farm. The genetically engineered (GE) canola plant was later found on Schmeiser’s farm.

“The problem is that Mr. Schmeiser has been saving and replanting seeds for decades,” says Steven Shrybman, counsel representing the coalition, “The Court will have to confront the question of whether a patent can be infringed when the alleged infringer has not made use of or benefited from the properties of an invention, which is exactly what happened here.”

This appeal requires the Court to decide what constitutes patent infringement when dealing with life forms such as plants, which have the capacity to reproduce themselves.

“The Federal Court failed to consider public interest and by doing so has taken away the existing rights of the broader community,” adds Nadège Adam of the Council of Canadians. “This isn’t simply a David and Goliath story anymore. All Canadians have a stake in this verdict.”

The coalition includes Canadian organizations such as the National Farmers Union and the Sierra Club of Canada.

“As it stands, the responsibility of dealing with environmental contamination is shouldered by the public-at-large as opposed to the polluter,” says Andrea Peart of the Sierra Club of Canada. “Innocent third parties are considered responsible for unwanted intruders containing Monsanto’s patented gene. That’s not fair.”

The precedence associated with this groundbreaking case has also attracted key international groups to the coalition. These include the Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration, the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, led by renowned Indian environmentalist Dr. Vandana Shiva, and the Washington-based International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA).

“Currently the US is attempting to force its plant patenting policies on the rest of the world”, says Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of ICTA. “This would seriously undermine the genetic diversity of the world’s crops and lead to the destruction of the livelihoods of millions of farmers by prohibiting them from saving seeds. The Supreme Court of Canada’s reversal of the lower court’s decision in this case would be a critical step in halting the patenting of life and restoring the rights of farmers.”

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