Court Upholds Patent Infringement Suit Against Dow

A federal appeals court upheld a patent infringement verdict against Dow AgroSciences involving a gene used in glufosinate-tolerant seed. The Washington, D.C., court of appeals affirmed a 2016 district court judgement that confirmed an arbitration award issued by an international tribunal in October of 2015. An Agri-Pulse report says Bayer accused Dow of infringing on four patents which “describe and contain various technologies related to the pat gene, which confers resistance to glufosinate,” the appeals court said in its ruling. Bayer uses the gene in its LibertyLink line of products and Dow uses the gene in its Enlist cotton and soybean seeds. Dow says it disagrees with the court decision and is examining what its legal options are. Dow could possibly ask the full appeals court to review the decision. It could also petition the Supreme Court for a review. Most experts think neither option has a great chance to succeed. “Neither the arbitration award nor the federal court’s decision changes the company’s plans for Enlist, or it’s soybean and cotton businesses,” Dow says in a release issued shortly after the decision was announced.