Court of Justice limits DNA protection in Monsanto case
06 July 2010
In its first foray into substantive patent law, the Court of Justice of the EU has said that DNA sequences can only be protected when they perform the function specified in the patent
The decision of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice was published today, even though the dispute between Monstanto and Cafetra was settled on June 23.
The Court was asked to address four questions on the interpretation of the 1998 EU Biotech Directive by a court in the Netherlands, after Monsanto sued Cafetra, which was importing soy meal from Argentina.
Monsanto alleged that the soy infringed its European patent for Glyphosate tolerant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthases, which was granted in 1996. The invention is used in its Roundup Ready soya plants.
While the Dutch court agreed that the imported soy included the DNA sequence covered by Monsanto’s patent, it was uncertain whether there was infringement as the DNA sequence was no longer performing its intended function in the (dead) soy meal.
In response to the questions, the...
Only subscribers have complete access to Managing IP Magazine,
log in or
subscribe now.
Alternatively take a
free trial, giving you 48-hour access to Managing IP Magazine (some articles and surveys may be excluded).
Subscribe Now
This article is available to subscribers. Please click subscribe to read the rest of the article.
Subscribe
Take a free trial
Please take a free 48-hour trial to gain limited access. Some articles and surveys may be excluded.
Take a free trial