monsanto wins 12 year interference case against max planck institute

Monsanto Company has won a key patent office battle regarding biotech-gene technology for the transformation of plants such as cotton. The decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that Monsanto's scientists were the first to invent this important discovery ends a 12-year patent interference dispute with the Max Planck Institute and other parties.

The decision, issued Monday by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, recounts the basis for finding that Monsanto was the first company to invent the agrobacterium transformation process which is used to introduce genes into plants.

"We are delighted that this scientific dispute has been resolved in Monsanto's favor," said Hugh Grant, chief executive officer for Monsanto. "We're pleased for our Chief Technology Officer Robb Fraley, and the team of devoted researchers at Monsanto who drove the groundbreaking science that pioneered the tools of agricultural biotechnology."

Simply put: An interference is a priority fight (i.e. who invented first) in the patent office.  In the U.S. we grant patents to the first person to invent and at times there are debates as to who the first inventor of a particular technology.  An interference proceeding is a procedural nightmare and a very specialized area of patent law.  A key indicator of this nightmare is the time it took to finalize this proceeding: 12 years of uncertainty relating to the ownership of a particular technology.