The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a lower court ruling punishing a Mississippi farmer for re-using Monsanto's patented, genetically modified soybeans.
Monsanto sued Homan McFarling for violating its patents by planting seeds he saved from a previous year's crop. Monsanto argued that a "technology agreement" McFarling signed restricted him to using the seeds for only one growing season. Lawyers for McFarling argued that patent law doesn't allow Monsanto "to control the future use of seeds that were a natural product of the seeds that he had bought and planted."
The company won $375,000 in damages. Monsanto has pursued similar lawsuits against almost 100 farmers.