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Syngenta files infringement suit against Atticus

Atticus LLC, a demand-driven provider of relevant branded-generic crop protection products, learned that it is the subject of a patent infringement lawsuit, filed by Syngenta.

Atticus is a supplier of leading fungicide products containing the unpatented compound azoxystrobin. Azoxystrobin was first approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1997. The original compound patents covering azoxystrobin expired in 2014. Atticus is the 12th technical registrant of azoxystrobin and is now the leading importer of generic azoxystrobin products.

At issue are Syngenta’s two existing patents, protecting very specific methods of manufacturing azoxystrobin. As Syngenta itself has stated, “there are many ways to manufacture azoxystrobin.”

“Contrary to Syngenta's allegations, the azoxystrobin products from Atticus do not infringe on Syngenta’s narrow process patents,” said Atticus CEO Randy Canady. “Any allegation to the contrary is false, and Atticus will vigorously defend itself in court and in the marketplace.”

Committed to operational excellence and serving its customers reliably, Atticus respects the intellectual property of its competitors and works diligently to ensure that it can offer unpatented, competitively priced azoxystrobin products that give retail distribution and farmers in this country the ability to choose what is right for their businesses.

“In this instance, our counsel even engaged with Syngenta’s counsel so they could confirm that our products are not infringing on their patents,” Canady explains. “Rather than accept that offer, Syngenta filed suit with incomplete information and without diligently investigating the facts.”

“It should also be noted that Atticus has been selling azoxystrobin for multiple growing seasons and Syngenta obviously knew that. Rather than working with us to understand and learn why Atticus is not infringing on their patents, Syngenta ran to court and filed this lawsuit, with an instantaneous press release, in a clear attempt to harm our company’s reputation. Syngenta’s meritless lawsuit and related actions are harming competition and, ultimately, the customers we serve. We look forward to prevailing on behalf of the industry and our customers.”