The point of contention seems to be if we (the taxpayers on the state and federal level) are paying for the R&D on good germplasms by Public Researchers which then gets "privatized" and "patented" by private growers who claim "proprietary" rights and won't disclose their plant parentage, then the public has been wronged. The challenge, of course, is to be able to prove that theft, fraud, deception, etc. actually occured. IANAL, though.
Perhaps, in the future, DNA analysis will help sort out these issues.
Generally speaking, allowing individuals or organizations to patent "genes" is a bad idea, IMO.
Genes are not "created." I have no problem with "credit" being given to those who understand pollination/hybridization/Mendellian genetics with creating new plants, i.e., with naming rights to the new subspecies.
However, it is a slippery slope from plant genetics and patents to human genes and patents.
I feel strongly that human genes should never be allowed to be patented by any individual or organization.