DuPont Will Appeal Verdict in Monsanto Versus DuPont Patent Case

DuPont believes that the evidence presented during the trial demonstrated clearly that Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybean patent (RE 39,247) is invalid and unenforceable and that Monsanto intentionally deceived the United States Patent and Trademark Office on several occasions as it sought patent protection.

2 Aug 2012 --- DuPont strongly disagrees with the verdict that was reached in favor of Monsanto in Monsanto’s patent case against DuPont in the United States District Court in St. Louis, Missouri. There were several fundamental errors in the case which deprived the jury of important facts and arguments and led to the disappointing outcome. DuPont will appeal at the earliest possible opportunity and expects to overturn this verdict.

“DuPont believes that the evidence presented during the trial demonstrated clearly that Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybean patent (RE 39,247) is invalid and unenforceable and that Monsanto intentionally deceived the United States Patent and Trademark Office on several occasions as it sought patent protection. Further, DuPont believes that the damages awarded of $1 billion are unjustified, particularly considering that Pioneer has never sold a single Optimum GAT seed and has no plans to do so in the future. DuPont’s license to sell Roundup Ready soybeans remains in place and is not impacted by this verdict,” said DuPont Senior Vice President and General Counsel Thomas L. Sager.

Several aspects of Monsanto’s misconduct involving this patent, which were not tried in this case, will be presented to a different jury as part of DuPont’s antitrust and patent misuse case against Monsanto in September 2013.

“DuPont is and always has been committed to innovation and providing farmers with diverse technology options. We continue to stand by our position that we did not infringe the Roundup Ready soybean patent and that the Monsanto patent is invalid. DuPont will continue to fight hard to ensure American farmers have choices and that no one company decides what is best for them,” concluded Sager.

Monsanto welcomed the verdict. "Importantly, this verdict highlights that all companies that make early and substantial investments in developing cutting edge technology will have their intellectual property rights upheld and fairly valued," said David Snively, Monsanto's Executive Vice President and General Counsel. "This verdict also underscores that DuPont's unauthorized use of the Roundup Ready technology was both deliberate and aimed at rescuing its own failed technology."

"The materials uncovered from DuPont files during this case highlight that DuPont's senior leaders were actively working to hide the fact their OGAT technology had failed and were using elaborate schemes to cover that up with the unlicensed use of our technology," Snively added. "They knew the OGAT technology didn't work for years, but opted to tell a much different story to their customers and to Wall Street. It is deeply disappointing that repeated requests to DuPont's leadership and board to investigate their own internal actions were not addressed and corrected, which ultimately required the matter go to trial."

Monsanto's Roundup Ready technology was first commercially introduced to U.S. soybean farmers in 1996. Today, Monsanto broadly licenses Roundup Ready technology to alfalfa, corn, cotton, soybean, spring canola, sugar beet and winter canola farmers. Since its introduction, Roundup Ready technology has allowed farmers to better manage weeds, reduce the use of agricultural inputs, improve tillage practices, and save on fuel and time.

Monsanto originally filed suit against DuPont and DuPont Pioneer in May 2009. The lawsuit sought to prevent the unlicensed combination of Monsanto's proprietary Roundup Ready herbicide tolerant technologies in soybeans and corn with DuPont's problem plagued OGAT. DuPont had been offered a license at multiple times prior to and throughout the duration of the trial, but the Delaware-based company refused to accept the offer from Monsanto Company.

Monsanto note that the verdict represents the third time that court proceedings have determined that DuPont or DuPont Pioneer has violated a trait licensing agreement with Monsanto.