They're famous for lots of bullshit they didn't actually do. It's part of the demonization process.
In this case, Monsanto never sold "terminator" seeds. They (and many others) sold hybrid seeds, which don't breed true, and so are functionally equivalent to that. Hybrid seeds have been around since the 1930s, if not earlier.
In any case, they can get the same effect by contract. You were not allowed to replant Roundup Ready soybeans, and they sued (and won against) farmers who broke the contract to do that.
