German company faces lawsuits out of Brazil pointing its Roundup herbicide to cancer (Image: Bloomberg)
Brazilian farmers who paid Monsanto royalties for their soybean and cotton seeds are now contesting the validity of these patents – and asking for hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.
It’s Bayer’s latest headache, which acquired Monsanto last year. The German company faces lawsuits out of Brazil that point to its herbicide Roundup as a cause of cancer.
What is at stake here is whether Monsanto’s patents, widely used by farmers in the country, represent legitimate innovation or simply combine existing technologies into a new product. Experts hired by farmer groups say they have found irregularities in two patents, according to Sidney Pereira Souza Júnior, a lawyer representing producers. Bayer said in a statement that the producer chose to embrace the innovation brought by this technology because it understands the benefits it brings to its business.
“The producer wants to pay royalties, as long as it is very clear what innovation we are paying for,” said Alexandre Schenkel, a cotton and soybean producer in the municipality of Campo Verde, Mato Grosso State.
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So far, studies commissioned by agricultural groups have found that two Monsanto soy and cotton patents offer benefits already associated with widespread technologies: insect resistance and Roundup tolerance. Its ongoing reviews cover all companies in the segment and up to 20 biotechnologies, including corn. The two Bayer seeds in question represent 58% of the soybean acreage in Brazil and 24% of cotton, according to consultancies Celeres and Kleffmann Group, respectively.
The cotton growers association of Mato Grosso State, the main fiber-producing state, filed a lawsuit last month in federal court to overturn Monsanto’s patent for genetically modified Bollgard II RR Flex, which combines insect resistance and Roundup tolerance. . The group is seeking to recover $ 151 million that its members have already paid in royalties. If it loses the lawsuit, Bayer could also stop receiving $ 60 million a year, according to the producers.
Bayer said in an e-mailed statement that it was not notified about the cotton-related process and that Bollgard II RR Flex technology meets all patent registration requirements.
A similar dispute over Intacta RR2 Pro soybean technology is at an advanced stage. Last year, the producers obtained a favorable court ruling that forced Monsanto to file in court the annual royalties paid by farmers in Mato Grosso for the use of Intacta. The decision was made after an opinion from the National Institute of Industrial Property, INPI, that technology did not meet the requirements to be considered as innovation.
That will cost Bayer about $ 210 million a year. Last month, the court extended the ruling to farmers in 10 other states, increasing the amount to be deposited to $ 650 million per year from 2019-20.
Bayer said it has appealed the decision and will continue to comply strictly with any court order that may arise in the process. The company reaffirmed the validity of its patents. Intacta RR2 Pro represents an innovation as it is the first technology for caterpillar-protected soybeans, the company said in a statement.