Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I think that the patents on glyphosate itself expired recently. The RoundUp-ready seeds are still protected, though.


Glyphosate itself was discovered back in the 50's; patents around that would have expired ~50 years ago.

The patents around glyphosate resistant soybeans expired five or ten years back; someone immediately produced and released an unencumbered version. (I don't think it's as popular as you'd think; the yields are a bit lower than the state-of-the-art varieties available now, and farmers purchase new seeds every year for a lot of reasons beyond patent encumbrance.)




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: