Less-farty Cows, Patented Cannabis, and other legal news to ponder from Cape Law Firm

Corn designed for ethanol results in fewer cow farts

Corn hybrids that were originally developed for ethanol production were discovered to be more efficient in beef production, a significant result for the environmental impacts of cattle. A recent with Syngenta’s Enogen brand corn hybrids found that beef feed efficiency increased by up to 5% over conventional corn. The discovery was . When fed as grain or silage, these feeding efficiency gains translate into a smaller environmental footprint for cattle – for 1,000 head, the impacts add up:

  • Reduction in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to removing 35 cars from the road for a year.
  • Energy savings sufficient to power 22 homes for a year.
  • Reductions in water use of up to 6 million gallons per year.

This is welcome news to the cattle industry which has faced increasing criticism over its contributions to greenhouse gases over the last several years. Better feed will result in fewer farty and burpy cows while still producing quality beef.


New Hemp Varieties Patented

Hemp and CBD market leader Charlotte’s Web has obtained U.S. utility patents for two new hemp varieties: ‘Kirsche’ (US Patent No. 10,888,060) and ‘Lindorea’ (US Patent No. 10,888,059). The new varieties have improved disease resistance and CBD-THC ratios favorable for consistent CBD-hemp production. As reported by Seed World, .

The patent claims and embodiments provide an interesting glimpse into the possible future of cannabis development and production. Among other things, the patents claim:

  • methods for transgenic and gene-edited hemp from the varieties
  • hemp that is engineered for herbicide tolerance (i.e., glyphosate, sulfonylurea, glufosinate, etc.), insect resistance, pest resistance, and abiotic stress resistance
  • methods for producing cannabinoid extracts from the varieties.

These new patents reflect the surge of new research into this age-old plant and will certainly benefit grower and consumers.


Cape Law Firm’s Frequently (or Randomly) Asked Questions

“Do you have to register a copyright?”

No, a copyright – generally known as authorship rights – arise as soon as a work is “fixed,” i.e., put into a tangible form. Copyright law protects works of authorship, including (i) literary works, (ii) musical works, (iii) dramatic works, (iv) pantomimes and choreographic works, (v) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, (vi) motion pictures and other audiovisual works, (vii) sound recordings; and (viii) architectural works. However, registering copyrights provides the owner with significant remedies to combat infringement.

Latest Posts