British Virgin Islands
April 25, 2012
European Patent Office also indicates allowance of claims on second patent related to Cibus’ RTDS™ technology
Cibus Global, a pioneering plant trait development firm, announced today that the intellectual property position related to its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS™) has been further strengthened after a decision to uphold a key patent and to indicate allowance of claims for an additional patent by the European Patent Office (EPO).
Cibus’ RTDS™ is an all-natural “smart breeding tool” which uses the basic processes of nature to develop desirable characteristics in plants. RTDS can help to accelerate the development of new crop varieties with a range of beneficial features including improved quality, reduced wastage, higher yields and a reduced reliance on chemicals.
The EPO upheld Cibus Global’s patent EP1223799 in oral proceedings held in The Hague on March 28, 2012 following opposition filed by Keygene N.V. in September 2010. The patent covers a core method related to the use of oligonucleotides in relation to crop protection.
The EPO separately indicated an allowance of claims in oral proceedings held March 29, 2012 directed to compositions (plants) for Cibus Global’s patent application EP2135504, also for use in crop protection.
Keith Walker, President of Cibus Global, said, “Our highly innovative technology for developing a broad range of traits in crops is protected by strong IP built up over many years of creative and cutting edge research. The decision by the European Patent Office validates the innovative nature of this work and further strengthens our position. We continue to vigorously uphold our intellectual property rights.”
“This patent family protects valuable advancements in crop protection by our R&D team,” Walker continued. “We are pleased to see our patent upheld in Europe in the opposition proceedings and our intellectual property portfolio expanded by the allowance of additional claims related to RTDS™ technology.”
Cibus Global develops beneficial crop traits with far-reaching implications in agriculture, alternative energy and product development. Through its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDSTM), Cibus creates traits in a directed way with more precision than traditional breeding techniques and without the introduction of foreign genetic material. RTDSTM has proven itself in the laboratory with several different applications. Cibus’ products will be brought to market through strategic, crop-specific partnerships
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