The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a determination that Monsanto Technology LLC beat out Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. as the first to invent a type of genetically modified corn.
On Feb. 28, a unanimous panel affirmed a December 2010 ruling by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in favor of Monsanto. The patent appeals board ruled that Monsanto’s claims were not time-barred and were entitled to seniority. The ruling in Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. v. Monsanto Technology LLC expanded the circumstances in which one party’s patent claims can allege priority over another’s.
