Federal Court Jury Finds In Favor Of Monsanto Co In Patent Case, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company And DuPont Pioneer Found Guilty Of 'Willful' Infringement Of Intellectual Property

Monsanto Company announced that it won a patent infringement trial in the U.S. District Court against DuPont Pioneer, formally Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont). The trial had centered on DuPont's unauthorized use of Monsanto's patented Roundup Ready technology. In rendering its verdict, the federal jury found that DuPont and DuPont Pioneer had willfully infringed Monsanto's patented Roundup Ready technology when it tried to patch the problems with DuPont's own Optimum GAT (OGAT) technology that had failed in earlier development. The jury awarded damages of $1 billion to Monsanto based on DuPont's willful infringement of its technology and the improper head start that DuPont obtained when it infringed Monsanto's technology rights. The finding of willful infringement could lead to an increased award of damages in the case. 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