Monsanto suspends Roundup Ready royalties in Brazil

Monsanto said in a statement it will hold off collecting royalties on its Roundup Ready soybean technology in Brazil until a patent dispute is resolved in the local courts.

Last week, Brazil's Upper Tribunal of Justice (STJ) rejected Monsanto's request to extend its patent on its RR1 technology until 2014. Monsanto said it was appealing, which will put the case before Brazil's Supreme Court (STF).

Brazil, the world's second largest soybean producer and exporter, is one of the company's leading growth markets.

The company is involved in several legal battles over royalties payments for using its technologies.

On Feb. 19, a Paraguayan judge rejected a request by soy farmers to block Monsanto from collecting royalty payments for Roundup Ready seeds in the world's fourth largest soybean exporter.

On the same day, U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled that Monsanto was in a strong position against an Indiana farmer over the use of its patented soybeans, a case closely watched by the biotechnology industry.