October 23, 2012
Monsanto is pursuing an appeal of a recent preliminary ruling from a state appellate court in Mato Grosso, Brazil, related to the company's collection of its first-generation Roundup Ready® soy's royalties.
The company is currently taking steps to comply with the court's preliminary ruling which requires Monsanto to temporarily suspend royalty collections for the first-generation soy product in the state of Mato Grosso, pending the outcome of the appeals process.
Its on-going appeal of this preliminary ruling seeks to re-establish the royalty collections during the time that the trial is heard by the original Mato Grosso state court. Monsanto expects that the appellate courts will decide these preliminary matters over the next several weeks, and then the case will move to trial in the original state court.
In order to maintain operational consistency, Monsanto will also temporarily suspend collections of royalties on first-generation Roundup Ready soy across the rest of Brazil.
Monsanto noted that it remains confident in the merits of its case and looks forward to resolving this matter as soon as possible.
"We look forward to resolving this preliminary matter on appeal over the next several weeks. Previous rulings in Brazil have been clear and recognised Monsanto's intellectual property rights as well as established its ability to collect royalties for its products," said Todd Rands, Monsanto's Legal Director for Latin America. "In the interim, we will continue to comply with the court's initial ruling. We will reserve our rights to re-establish royalty collections to the extent the courts allow us to do so in future rulings."
Monsanto's first-generation Roundup Ready soy products are protected by various intellectual property rights under Brazilian law. Brazilian state and federal courts have upheld these rights. The Brazilian law provides that the company's intellectual property rights for Roundup Ready soy should continue through 2014.
The Company shares the belief stated by the leaders of these grower groups that these technologies have brought great value to Brazil's farmers and its economy. Both parties agree and recognise the value that intellectual property rights and the associated royalties are playing in stimulating new investments made by the industry. While both parties share these common interests, Monsanto and these grower leaders have different interpretations of the intellectual property rights held by the company on Roundup Ready soy, and Monsanto will be presenting the full merits of the case for the Brazilian courts' consideration.
