Syngenta secures nearly $1m in pesticide suit

Syngenta has secured nearly $1 million of damages in a patent infringement suit it brought against pesticide maker Willowood.

On September 14, a jury at the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina awarded Sygenta $975,600 after finding that Willowood had infringed patents for the pesticide azoxystrobin.

Willowood has infringed US patent numbers 5,602,076; 5,633,256; 5,847,138; and 8,124,761. 

Syngenta has manufactured and sold azoxystrobin products under the Abound, Heritage, Quilt Xcel and Quadris trade names.

In March 2015, Syngenta sued Willowood for infringement of the four patents.

Willowood was also accused by Syngenta of copyright infringement as its AzoxyProp Xtra label is “substantially similar” to Syngenta’s Quilt Xcel, according to the claim.

In June 1997, Syngenta registered with the technical grade of the azoxystrobin active ingredient and end-use products using azoxystrobin as a flowable fungicide with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In August 2013, Willowoood filed an end-use product application with the EPA to register its Azoxy 2SC product.

In order to do this Willowood falsely represented to the EPA in its application that “the technical source of active ingredient is based on a registered source of supply, according to Syngeta.

Syngenta said it was the only registered source of azoxystrobin and Willowood did not seek approval from Syngenta to use azoxystrobin in its Azoxy 2SC product.

The jury found that Willowood should pay $75,600 for infringing Syngenta’s patents relating to the chemical compound itself.

It also found that Willowood had infringed one of Syngeta’s patents for processes related to the creation of the pesticide and awarded $900,000 in damages for this infringement.

US District Judge Catherine Eagles presided over the trial.