Tuesday, Monsanto Co. (MON) said the St. Louis Federal Court's ruling that DuPont was not licensed to combine the Roundup Ready trait with the Optimum GAT or OGAT trait in corn or soybeans. The ruling means that DuPont is not authorized to use the Roundup Ready trait to mask the "unacceptable risks to farmers" posed by DuPont's OGAT trait.
"The Court ruled that the Monsanto-DuPont license agreements 'are unambiguous and do not grant Pioneer the right to stack' the Roundup Ready trait with the Optimum GAT trait. DuPont negotiated and signed a contract with a specific set of rights, at the financial terms they preferred, and the rights did not include making this stacked combination. This was DuPont's business decision," said Scott Partridge, chief deputy general counsel for Monsanto.
"The court record further highlights that DuPont was authorized to create any stacked trait product with our Roundup Ready technology other than one such as OGAT, a conscious business decision that they made at the time the contract was negotiated and signed," continued Partridge.
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