An American bought yellow beans at a Mexican market, planted them for a few years and claimed a patent on what he called the Enola bean; it was his new bean, he said. The absurdity of the theft was followed by expensive court proceeding- FIVE appeals, the last this month which resolved once again: common sense says the bean obviously belongs to the campesinos of Mexico, the true innovators of this nutritious, staple bean.
Its an identity theft of a culture's genetic heritage and we need to establish these as big crimes. The patent has been upheld during this decade of appeal, and farmers have paid for it. Biopiracy is too kind a term here: there isn't a hint of nobility or swash buckle - it is pure evil
Read ETC Group news story
Enola Patent Ruled Invalid: Haven’t we Bean here before? (Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.)
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