U.S. ag wary as Monsanto heads to Supreme Court The case also is
important to regenerative medicine that relies on stem cell
technologies. A stem cell by definition is a cell that can self-
replicate, thus the case may answer the question of whether a
patentee can control progeny of a patented stem cell, according
to Antoinette Konski, a partner with Foley & Lardner's
intellectual property practice group. Monsanto, a $13 billion
behemoth in agricultural seed and chemical sales, also sees the
case as much bigger than itself. "This case really centers on
the question of twenty-first century technology such as what we
bring in agriculture and other companies bring for say stem cell
research or nanotechnology.... and how they're going to be
handled under principles of intellectual property law," said
Monsanto general counsel Dave Snively. Because seeds self-
replicate, creating progeny when planted, they are unlike more
traditional patented products. Using a computer or smartphone
does not create more computers or