EU patent Office sides with DuPont

Dupont and Novozymes the worlds two largest enzymes makers, have been fighting it out over patents and recently Dupont come out as the winner in their European case. The European Patent Office (EPO) has revoked Novozymes patent which covers the technology used to coat an enzyme used for animal feed. Danisco claimed that the patent was invalid and that their product did not infringe. Soonhee Jang, Danisco’s chief intellectual property counsel, said. “We are gratified and very pleased with this decision.”

Novozymes has appealed against the office’s decision and the patent will stand as granted until the EPO’s board decides on the challenge, said Annegrethe Jakobsen, a spokeswoman for the Bagsvaerd, Denmark-based company. “We still have a strong confidence in the validity of the patent,” Jakobsen said. The two companies are also locked in a US patent court case on an enzyme used in biofuel production. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers