( July 23, 2026, 19:51 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Democratic US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Peter Welch have introduced the Fair Seeds for Farmers Act to stop "Big Agriculture" from abusing seed patents, which the lawmakers say have allowed the companies to block smaller competitors from developing their own seeds and force them instead to sign restrictive licensing agreements. "Giant seed companies also leverage these patents to force farmers to sign exploitative contracts that ban farmers from saving seeds ... between seasons to force them to buy new seeds every year, and restrict them from developing or experimenting with seeds," the lawmakers said in a statement from Warren's office. The bill addresses unfair practices by clarifying that the only intellectual property protections that apply to seeds and plants are the Plant Variety Protection Act and Plant Patent Act, and prohibiting corporate seed companies from contractually prohibiting farmers from saving seeds between seasons or limiting their use of seeds or plants for research, breeding and other such activities, according to the statement.Full statement follows:...
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.