Jury Settles Bt Corn Technology Patent Dispute
Bayer CropScience's fight that Monsanto's YieldGard Corn Borer infringed on their patents ends.
Compiled by staff
Published: Nov 23, 2005
A jury ruled Monsanto was the first to invent the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insect-resistant corn technology and prove that it works.
The jury also found that Monsanto did not infringe U.S. Patent No. 5,545,565 assigned to Bayer CropScience and that this patent was invalid.
Monsanto Company first brought insect-protected corn to the marketplace in the form of YieldGard Corn Borer in 1997. On Dec. 4, 2000, Monsanto filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis for a declaratory judgment against Bayer CropScience that four patents, assigned to Bayer CropScience, involving claims to truncated Bt technology were invalid and not infringed by MON 810 in YieldGard corn.
In a lawsuit filed against some of Monsanto's technology licensees in August 2000, Bayer CropScience alleged that the technology used in YieldGard Corn Borer infringed four of their patents.
Bayer CropScience counterclaimed to request royalties for prior sales of YieldGard corn and injunctive relief. On June 22, 2004, Bayer CropScience dismissed its claims on three of the four patents in dispute, leaving only the one in this case to be litigated.
Permalink: Click here
Tagged: cropscience, Monsanto, monsanto company
|