General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Sorry, Monsanto: The Science Is on Our Side, Not Yours [View all]ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)We believe that one of the reasons weve enjoyed a positive relationship with public sector scientists is because of our blanket agreements with universities.
Years ago, (note: circa 2009) each time a scientist or group of scientists from a university wanted to study Monsantos products, both parties would sign a contract specific to that study. The sheer number of such studies for which we provided our seed made that model of contract signing cumbersome for both parties.
The blanket agreement allows university scientists to work with Monsantos commercial seed products without contacting the company or signing a separate contract for each study. This blanket agreement the Academic Research License (ARL) enables academic researchers to do research with commercialized products with as few constraints as possible. ARLs are in place with all major agriculturally-focused US universities about 100 in total.
http://monsantoblog.com/2012/09/06/the-myth-about-controlling-research/