Bayer CropScience wins patent suit against Chinese companies

Bayer CropScience said Wednesday that the company has stopped two Chinese companies from manufacturing and distributing counterfeit crop protection crops containing the active ingredient found in its insecticide Movento.

Chinese manufacturer Hebei Sannong Agrochemical and distributor Nanjing Heyuan recently accepted the litigation filed by Bayer and agreed to compensate the company for infringing its patent for spirotetramat.

In July 2014, Bayer CropScience filed a lawsuit against the two Chinese firms in the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People’s Court. After an oral hearing in March 2015, the judges mediated the settlement and further negotiations.

Bayer CropScience Global Product Defense Head Gerwin Bouillon said the company is committed to defending its intellectual property rights, along with doing everything it can to prevent the illegal trade in crop protection products.

“Farmers using counterfeit crop protection products containing poor-quality, or even non-approved, active substances pose serious risks to themselves and field hands, as well as to the environment and consumer health.”

Spirotetramat belongs to the chemical class of ketoenols invented by Bayer. It offers broad-spectrum control of many sucking insects such as aphids, thrips, mealy bugs and whiteflies. Movento has a comprehensive spectrum of activity against sucking pests and is an important addition to integrated pest management (IPM) programs in grapes, citrus fruits, vegetables, tree fruits and potatoes.