Corteva Sues Bayer’s Monsanto Over Roundup-Resistant Corn Patent

Corteva Inc. alleges that the development by Bayer AG’s Monsanto Co. of genetically modified corn plants that produce an enzyme resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide infringes a patent for Corteva’s Enlist-branded corn products, according to a federal lawsuit in Delaware.

Monsanto and Bayer CropScience LP, both units of Bayer’s crop science division, knew of Corteva’s invention and have made and used genetically modified, or transgenic, plants that produce the enzyme, according to a complaint in the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

The patent covers AryloxyAlkanoate Dioxygenase, or AAD-1, proteins and genes, which target both grass weeds ...