Research Triangle Park, N.C.-Worldwide Bayer CropScience isn’t saying anything publicly beyond a short statement that there has been a final settlement in the lawsuits against three smaller competitors over patent infringement involving Bayer’s pesticide imidacloprid combined with fertilizer. “The terms of the settlement are confidential, and we can’t comment past the information in the press release,” Bayer spokesman Greg Coffey responded to Green Markets. The suits against Etigra and Nufarm, which is involved because of its acquisition of Etigra that was completed earlier this month, have been dragging on for months. Apparently the latest agreement amounts to a reaffirmation by the parties that Bayer’s patent is valid and enforceable. Some of the same was stated last December in the joint announcement from Bayer and Nufarm that they had reached a settlement granting Nufarm and its business partners freedom to operate under the patented imidacloprid on fertilizer technology, including commercializing products incorporating the patented technology. Bayer filed suit in February against Control Solutions. “Bayer is pleased that the validity of its imidacloprid on fertilizer patent has again been affirmed,” Joshua Weeks, head of professional products business for parent company Bayer Environmental Science in North America, said in the statement. “Research efforts from companies like Bayer CropScience are based on a foundation of respect for intellectual property rights. This respect enables the significant investments needed to generate future technical innovations.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain