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Winnipeg, Manitoba
May 8, 2003
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http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/com/2003/html/03-05-08.3a.html
GRANTED WITH COSTS / ACCORDÉS AVEC DÉPENS
Percy Schmeiser, et al. v. Monsanto Canada Inc., et al. (FC)
(29437)
granted with costs to the applicants in any event of the cause /
accordée avec dépens en faveur des
demandeurs quelle que soit l'issue de l'appel
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From a press release via Agnet
8/03-II
The Supreme Court of Canada has
granted Percy Schmeiser's application for Leave to Appeal a
Federal Court of Appeal judgment that found he had violated
Monsanto Canada Inc.'s patent on Roundup Ready canola technology
(http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/information/index_e.asp)
According to the Supreme Court of
Canada, this decision does not mean the judgment of the Court of
Appeal is reversed. It simply means that Mr. Schmeiser and his
legal counsel have been given permission to argue their appeal
before the Supreme Court. The Registrar has not yet set a date
for the appeal hearing, but appeals are typically heard once the
parties and any interveners have prepared and filed the required
documents with the Court.
The next session of the Supreme
Court does not begin until the first Tuesday in October and is
scheduled to last three months. Both Mr. Schmeiser's legal
counsel and Monsanto Canada's legal counsel will have a limited
amount of time to present their respective cases before the
Supreme Court once a hearing date has been set.
"We were hopeful the unanimous
decision of the Federal Court of Appeal would have put an end to
unnecessary and costly legal action in this case," said Trish
Jordan, Monsanto Canada spokesperson. "However, we look forward
to the opportunity to complete this final stage of the legal
process and are
confident the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal will be
upheld once the Supreme Court has had the opportunity to review
the evidence in this case."
During the original trial,
Justice Andrew MacKay of the Federal Court of Canada pointed to
independent tests that showed 1,030 acres of Mr. Schmeiser's
canola were 95 percent to 98 percent tolerant to Roundup
herbicide. At such a high level of tolerance, Justice MacKay
ruled the seed could only be of commercial quality and could not
have arrived in Mr. Schmeiser's field by accident. The case of
Percy Schmeiser and Schmeiser Enterprises Ltd. vs. Monsanto
Canada Inc. and Monsanto Company is the only patent infringement
case in Canada involving Monsanto's patented canola technology
to be heard by the Federal Court of Canada. It has always been
Monsanto Canada's preference to settle any deliberate violations
of its patented technology outside of the Federal Court system.
The decision documents of Justice Andrew MacKay and the
three-member Federal Court of Appeal can be found at the
following links:
Federal Court of Appeal Ruling September 4, 2002,
http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fct/2002/2002fca309.html
Federal Court of Canada Ruling of March 29, 2001,
http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fct/2001/2001fct256.html
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