Monsanto and DuPont have a long history of patent-related disputes and licensing agreements to maintain the status quo as cooperative rivals in the highly competitive field of genetically engineered agricultural seeds. Their current dispute has resulted in lawsuit filed by Monsanto in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging patent infringement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment by DuPont and its subsidiary, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., through Pioneer's allegedly unlawful use of Monsanto's proprietary Roundup Ready herbicide-tolerant technology in soybean and corn seeds.
Monsanto's Roundup Ready seeds have been genetically engineered to enable soybean and corn plants to tolerate exposure to glyphosate weed killers and herbicides, namely, Monsanto's Roundup. In 2002 DuPont licensed Monsanto's Roundup Ready seed technology, but has been developing its own glyphosate resistant seed technology, named Optimum GAT, to offer an alternative to Monsanto's Roundup. Through field testing DuPont had determined that Optimum GAT seeds did not perform as desired. DuPont did determine that combining or "stacking" the Roundup Ready technology with the Optimum GAT technology resulted in a "plow-worthy" seed.
The trigger for this lawsuit is a provision in the 2002 license agreement that is aimed at preventing the combining or "stacking" of non-Roundup Ready technologies with Roundup Ready seeds. Monsanto aims to enforce the anti-stacking provision of the license agreement. DuPont claims the anti-stacking clause was nullified by the U.S. Justice Department in 2008 when the DOJ ordered Monsanto to abandon similar restrictions on cottonseed breeders.
The parties have exchanged unpleasantries in the media. Monsanto CEO has stated that "… unlawfully taking technology is neither imitation nor flattery; it is unethical and wrong. A true technology company respects patents and its contractual agreements and delivers new products through its own innovation and honest collaboration." A DuPont VP fired back, stating that "Monsanto has a long history of using litigation and aggressive tactics to preserve their monopoly and attempt to intimidate customers, seed partners, and competitors."
While this litigation is in its infancy and no clear path to resolution has been established, another license agreement or amendments to the 2002 agreement may ultimately be negotiated to return Monsanto and DuPont to their status quo ante.
Vol. 53, June 2010