Bt bragging rights go to Monsanto

ST. LOUIS – A jury has found in favor of the Monsanto Company in a patent infringement and validity case related to insect-protection technology in corn.
The jury found Monsanto did not infringe on a U.S. patent assigned to Bayer CropScience, and the jury also found this patent was invalid.
It’s ours. “The jury’s findings are further confirmation that Monsanto’s scientists were the first to invent the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insect-resistant corn technology and prove that it works,” said Robert T. Fraley, chief technology officer for Monsanto.
Monsanto Company first brought insect-protected corn to the marketplace in the form of YieldGard Corn Borer in 1997.
In a lawsuit filed against some of Monsanto’s technology licensees in August 2000, Bayer CropScience alleged the technology used in YieldGard Corn Borer infringed four of their patents.
In June 2004, Bayer CropScience dismissed its claims on three of the four patents in dispute, leaving only the one in this case to be litigated.