WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday appeared skeptical of an Indiana farmer’s claim that Monsanto lost its right to control the use of its herbicide-resistant soybean after the first sale of that self-replicating seed.

The case, Bowman v. Monsanto, 11-796, has potential implications for a wide range of industries and has drawn amicus briefs from intellectual property lawyers, biotechnology companies, agricultural organizations, food-safety groups and others.