Monsanto may appeal Brazil royalties ruling

Monsanto Co is considering appealing a Brazilian court ruling obliging it to deposit in an escrow account the royalties related to its Intacta RR2 Pro soy seed biotechnology, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Monsanto is weighing options for appealing (the ruling) and will take all measures to protect its legal rights," the statement said.

Last week, a Brazilian judge ordered units of Monsanto Co to deposit the royalties related to that genetically modified seed in an escrow account pending the outcome of litigation over a patent dispute between Brazilian soy growers and the U.S. seeds company, now a unit of Bayer AG.

Last week, Brazilian soy growers suing over the validity of that patent said they expect Monsanto to collect 800 million reais ($204 million) in royalties related to the seed technology in the 2017/18 crop cycle.

Monsanto said the decision does not interfere with the system for collecting royalties per se.

The company said it still retains its intellectual property rights related to the soy seed technology that is the object of the dispute, pending a final decision on the matter.

Monsanto said the court determined that it can normally collect royalties on future crop seed sales and then deposit the due amounts in an escrow account as required by the ruling.