Monsanto legal cases of Monsanto but rather bio-piracy, because the virus-resistant plants originated in India and were registered in international seed banks; they further claimed that conventional breeding methods were used to transfer the virus resistance genes from an Indian melon to other melons and that European law prohibits patents on conventional breeding. The European Patent Office created a page on its website to explain the case. Monsanto presently operates as an agricultural company, but it was founded in 1901 as a chemical company. In 1997 Monsanto split the chemical sector of its business into an independent company, Solutia Inc. In 2008 Monsanto
Monsanto produced computer hardware and software designed to enable farmers to increase yield and productivity through more precise planting. In 2013 Monsanto purchased San Francisco-based Climate Corp for $930 million. Climate Corp. makes local weather forecasts for farmers based on data modelling and historical data; if the forecasts were wrong, the farmer was compensated. In 2015 Monsanto tried to acquire Swiss agro-biotechnology rival, Syngenta, for US$46.5 billion, but failed. In 2015 Monsanto was the world's biggest supplier of seeds, controlling 26% of the global seed market (Du Pont was second with 21%). Monsanto is the only manufacturer of white phosphorus for