By Jim Suhr, Business Writer
Associated Press via Checkbiotech

Syngenta AG pledges to appeal a federal jury ruling favoring agribusiness rivals Monsanto Co. and a Dow Chemical Co. biotechnology subsidiary in a patent-infringement flap over insect-resistant corn.

U.S. District Court jurors in Delaware determined Tuesday that Monsanto and Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences did not infringe on a Syngenta patent, essentially finding the patent invalid because Switzerland-based Syngenta did not actually invent the technology.

The verdict followed a ruling last week by the court that effectively threw out the rest of Syngenta's patent-infringement case against the two companies over patents issued between mid-2000 and June 2002, a month before Syngenta sued.

St. Louis-based Monsanto, which in recent years has exchanged patent-related lawsuits with Syngenta, said it began marketing insect-protected corn in 1997 as YieldGard Corn Borer, using technology Syngenta claimed to own.

David Jones, Syngenta's chief of business development, called the jury's decision "disappointing" but said the company remains "confident in the strength of our intellectual property" and will appeal the ruling.

Robert Fraley, St. Louis-based Monsanto's chief technology officer, called the lawsuit's outcome "further confirmation of the fact that Monsanto's scientists were the first to invent this important technology."

"For us, it's an important victory," Ben Kampelman, a Monsanto spokesman, said Wednesday. "It helps ensure our continued freedom to operate and broadly license the technology to hundreds of companies throughout the United States, including Syngenta."

Dow AgroSciences spokesman Garry Hamlin said the Delaware case's outcome "means Dow AgroSciences is a significant player in biotech and well able to stand up to those who try to hinder us from providing value-added technology."

The lawsuits related to technology for synthetic "Bt" genes in certain plants. Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, is a natural bacterium present in soil that is an effective insect-control agent, long well-known to regulators, farmers and organic gardeners.

Crops containing Monsanto's synthetic Bt gene, including YieldGard Rootworm corn and Bollgard cotton, are protected against certain insects but are harmless to birds and humans.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled in February that Monsanto scientists were the first to invent the technology for synthetic "Bt" genes.

Kampelman said Monsanto and Syngenta each have two pending patent-infringement cases still pending against each other in various courts. Monsanto shares gained 35 cents to close Wednesday at $51.20 on the New York Stock Exchange -- near the high end of their 52-week trading range of $25.70 to $51.54.

Syngenta's U.S. shares rose 20 cents to close at $21.05 on the NYSE -- near the end of their 52-week trading range of $12.65 to $21.46.

Dow Chemical shares rose 66 cents to close at $49.66, also near the high end of their 52-week trading range of $36.35 to $51.34.