Dow Wins Bt Patent Lawsuit

NEW YORK - Dec 15/04 - SNS -- Dow AgroSciences LLC won a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Syngenta Seeds, which targeted three insect-protected corn products that include the insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), sold by Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto Company.

Earlier in the trial proceedings, two related patents owned by Syngenta were eliminated from the case by a ruling of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware that Dow AgroSciences' and Monsanto's products did not infringe those patents, as a matter of law. The products at issue include Dow AgroSciences' Herculex I Insect Protection corn and YieldGard, a Bt corn product designed by Monsanto Company. A third Dow AgroSciences Bt corn product, still in development, was also involved.

Together, the two recent rulings deny all of Syngenta's claims against Dow AgroSciences' and Monsanto's products based on these patents.

On Thursday, December 9, Chief Judge Sue L. Robinson ruled that two of the three Syngenta patents (numbers 6,320,100; and 6,075,185) were not infringed by any product in the lawsuit as a matter of law. The two patents involved technology for more efficient expression of Bt insecticidal proteins in corn.

On Tuesday, December 14, the jury in the case found that the remaining Syngenta patent (6,403,865) is invalid and unenforceable because the subject matter of the patent was not actually invented by Syngenta. Separately, the jury found that the patents were invalid due to obviousness, considering earlier work in the field by others -- including both Dow AgroSciences' affiliated company, Mycogen Corporation, and Monsanto.