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Producers association questions patent of Intacta soybeans in Brazil: Monsanto defends itself
Nov. 17, 2017
Monsanto has published a statement clarifying the validity of its intellectual property rights for the Intacta soybean technology. Last week, the Association of Soybean and Corn Growers of the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil sought to nullify at the Federal Justice the patent of the genetically-modified soybeans RR2 Pro.
According to the producers' organization, the Monsanto registration does not comply with the legal requirements of the Industrial Property Law. For the productive sector, the biotechnology patent should be revised by the National Institute of Industrial Property and declared by the Judiciary Power. They estimate that even before the 2016/2017 season, producers from Mato Grosso paid royalties for biotechnology of some R$ 733 million.
The president of the Soybean Growers Association, Endrigo Dalcin, said that studies made by the association, as well as legal opinions by experts, including from other countries, reveal that three initial irregularities in the Monsanto patent would expire in 2022. One of the irregularities regards the exclusion of information or technical data about the gene construction originally conceived and tested. Another point focuses on the exemption of the integral invention. Another failure, considered serious, is the disregard shown to the Industrial Property Law about the addition of the matter after the submission of the patent request with Brazilian authorities, amplifying the scope of the original patent's illegality.
“Knowing through press reports about a supposed action against the technology patent of Intacta by the Association of Corn and Soybean Growers of Mato Grosso, Monsanto clarifies that the details of this measure are not known, therefore, we cannot have a stand in a definitive way. Yet, it is important to highlight that soybeans with protection against caterpillars were not available before the launch of Intacta, which have been available commercially in Brazil for over four years”, states Monsanto.
Further, according to Monsanto, the rural producers “chose to adopt this innovation to understand the great benefits for the crop and, consequently, to its business. This innovation brought economic and environmental benefits for Brazilian producers, as well as for the country’s agriculture. This is the reason for its rapid adoption in the field”.
“Equally important to reiterate is that the Intacta technology was duly patented in Brazil and other countries, and always followed the most rigorous criteria of exams. The National Institute of Industrial Property, as well as concession patent agencies abroad, who are experts in the subject, judiciously evaluate the requirements for the patent concession. Therefore, Intacta followed the most strict rules of examination and all the requirements of patents were duly attended,” according to the company.
“Monsanto reaffirms the validity of its patent and its trust in the Judicial Power, and it is certain that, as occurred numerous times, other research and development companies contribute with important innovations for the growth of agriculture in Brazil. We believe, also, that only with the intensification of these investments will we continue to overcome the large challenges that tropical agriculture presents, while consolidating our countries as one of the largest food producers in the world,” according to a company statement.
Source: AgroNews
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