Monsanto Vows To Fight DuPont Patent Suit
October 21, 2011 DuPont has filed a patent lawsuit against Monsanto, accusing the company of using a “novel seed-production technique” without permission.
The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. federal court in Iowa, concerns a patented technique that “increases seed-corn vigor to improve germination under stress,” DuPont said in a statement Tuesday.
Monsanto vowed to fight the lawsuit, which it said is “without merit.”
“DuPont’s claim pertains to defoliating corn plants with Paraquat or Roundup. This approach is not used in any Monsanto production fields,” the St. Louis-based company said. “We don’t believe this lawsuit has any practical effect on our current or future business; however we take all lawsuits seriously. Importantly, this filing appears to be another in a series of frivolous claims initiated by DuPont against our business and aimed at distracting us from our mission of investing in and delivering new product offerings to farmers around the world. We will defend our business against this latest attack.”
In 2009, Monsanto sued DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, alleging infringement of its patents for Roundup Ready herbicide-resistant crops. DuPont countered that Monsanto was trying to “intimidate” competitors.
(Source: Industry Week, Monsanto press release)
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