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Bayer & Corteva sue each other

Corteva AgriScience and Bayer CropScience have filed lawsuits against each other over the use of certain herbicide traits.

Bayer filed suit against Corteva first, alleging Corteva breached contractual obligations to Bayer related to the development and commercialization of E3 soybeans. In a statement to Brownfield, Bayer says they believe Corteva practiced Bayer technology in its product development.

In its suit, Corteva alleges Bayer is infringing upon one of its patents on a gene used in Enlist® Corn that encodes a unique herbicide resistance enzyme and is part of their Enlist® Weed Control System.  That suit was filed within hours of Bayer’s filing.  In a statement, Corteva says the AAD-1 enzyme is protected by hundreds of patents worldwide and they will defend its intellectual property to continue to bring farmers the much-needed technology.

Bayer says the company believes it has a strong defense against Corteva´s claims of patent infringement, and that in this case, Bayer says it does not believe it needs a license to the Corteva patent.

Bayer says their lawsuit was sealed because it contains confidential contractual details.  The Corteva court filing is attached below.