By Ana Mano
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Germany’s Bayer has won an injunction to suspend a court ruling that gave Brazilian soybean farmers the right to reimbursement for royalties paid for expired patents of genetically modified soy seeds, according to a farmer group and a statement sent by the company to stakeholders this week.
The injunction prevents the Mato Grosso state lower court ruling from taking immediate effect, farmer lobby Aprosoja-MT said late on Thursday.
Bayer did not immediately reply when asked for comment.
On Wednesday, Bayer sent a note to stakeholders, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, explaining that the company had successfully got the December 2024 ruling suspended until the Mato Grosso court of appeals reviews the case.
“This outcome preserves the current status quo, ensuring that the core principles of our business model… remain unchanged while the appeal is pending,” Bayer told stakeholders, according to the note.
The company, which acquired U.S.-based Monsanto in 2016, has faced multiple legal challenges to the patents linked to its Intacta RR2 PRO technology in Brazil, the world’s biggest soybean producer and exporter. The widely popular GMO seed combines tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate and protection against caterpillars.
The injunction is the latest twist in a protracted court battle in which the crop science firm and Brazilian farmers have clashed.
An estimated 4.5 billion reais ($785.30 million) in the form of “judicial guarantees” have been provided by Bayer while two lawsuits are ongoing, said Sidney de Souza, Aprosoja-MT’s lawyer, on Friday.
In 2017, Mato Grosso farmers sued Monsanto in federal court seeking to cancel Intacta’s patent protections. A final decision is pending, he said.
In 2023, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that patent rights could not be extended beyond 20 years, cutting the duration of certain Intacta patents. That ruling affected 1.3 billion reais in Intacta royalties that had been paid by local farmers.
“The judge applied the Supreme Court’s decision in our case, corrected the patent terms and ordered the return of unduly paid royalties,” Souza said of the Mato Grosso ruling now suspended by the injunction.
($1 = 5.7303 reais)
(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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