Battleangel

Via Piratbyrån and Corante …

The GloFish fluorescent ornamental fish are intended solely for visual enjoyment as aquarium fish by end users who have purchased these fish from authorized resellers, and not for commercial reproduction. These fish are the subject of various intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Yorktown Technologies, Inc. (”Yorktown”), both in the U.S. and internationally. These rights include (1) patent rights, including published patent applications (2) copyrights; and (3) trademark rights, including slogans and service marks.

By accepting these fish, and as part of the consideration therefor, the recipient agrees: (1) not to, breed or propagate these fish, permit or encourage others to breed or propagate these fish, or otherwise intentionally engage in any activity that may result in or lead to the breeding or propagation of these fish by anyone without the express written consent of Yorktown; (2) not to sell or transfer these fish to anyone in the State of California, or to possess or otherwise engage in any activity that results in the possession of these fish in the State of California.

Source: GloFish

See also the discussion over at Gripelog, which started the chain and from where I also nicked the nifty title.

So maybe the EULA was written by an overzealous freshman of law that didn’t understand intellectual property. It is clear from the discussion above that genetically engineered species are banned in California. The breeding restrictions are trickier to come to terms with. Someone suggested that it was a way of foreseeing the inevitable problem of fish escaping Saving Nemo style into a natural ecosystem. And being able to say “we told you so.”
But for the copyfighter, this seems to be a far thicker and more sinister plot. Much like the EULAs that now desecrate computer software, this seems like the first stumbling steps towards a biological ditto. It’s a pretty bleak outlook. And one that is already a reality for many farmers the world over (Gripelog - Monsanto Restricts Farmers From Re-planting Seeds) (Grain - Iraq’s new patent law: A declaration of war against farmers) (CBC - Sask. farmer loses to biotech company).

See also: Stop Animal Patents