Monsanto, DuPont Square Off on Soybean-Trait Patent Dispute

07/10/2012| 12:02pm US/Eastern

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   By Ian Berry 
 

DuPont Co. (>> E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co) said rival Monsanto Co. (>> Monsanto Company) deceived federal officials in securing a patent for its core genetically modified soybean seed, rendering "unenforceable" the trait at the heart of a legal battle between the companies.

DuPont said its contention is part of opening arguments that began Tuesday in a St. Louis federal court, where the companies are squaring off over Monsanto's claims that DuPont is violating a 2002 licensing agreement giving DuPont the right to use the trait.

Monsanto filed suit in 2009 over DuPont's Optimum GAT soybean seed, which included a DuPont genetically modified trait that enabled the crop to withstand applications of the herbicide glyphosate. DuPont and its seed subsidiary, Pioneer Hi-Bred, initially marketed the seed as an alternative to Monsanto's glyphosate-resistant seed, Roundup Ready, but ultimately paired the Monsanto trait with its own trait in the Optimum GAT product.

Monsanto, the world's largest seed company, claims that by stacking the gene onto its own product, DuPont is violating the terms of the 2002 licensing agreement. DuPont countersued, alleging anticompetitive practices. DuPont has since shelved the Optimum GAT product.

DuPont will demonstrate that the Roundup Ready soybean patent "is invalid and unenforceable because Monsanto intentionally deceived the United States Patent and Trademark Office on several occasions as it procured the patent," Thomas L. Sager, DuPont senior vice president and general counsel, said in a statement Tuesday.

Monsanto didn't address that charge directly in a statement Tuesday but said DuPont has engaged in deliberate patent infringement.

"DuPont/Pioneer's inability to deliver a novel trait product to farmers...does not grant it the right to be above the law nor misuse another company's product for its own gain," Monsanto General Counsel Dave Snively said.

St. Louis-based Monsanto said it has tried multiple times to reach an agreement to license the technology but that DuPont has declined to do so.

Monsanto's Roundup Ready technology is used broadly by farmers, as the company has licensed it to other companies. The glyphosate-resistant trait is used in alfalfa, corn, cotton, canola and sugar beets. Agronomists and environmental groups blame its overuse for fostering development of glyphosate-resistant weeds across the U.S. South and, increasingly, the Midwest.

The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.

DuPont's countersuit in the case is scheduled for trial next spring.

Write to Ian Berry at ian.berry@dowjones.com

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