Danisco overturns US patent verdict dispute

Danisco has seen a verdict given against it in a patent infringement case against competitor Novozymes reviewed and changed.

A district court in Wisconsin, US has overturned a ruling from October 2011 that sided with Novozymes which claimed Danisco, part of DuPont Industrial Biosciences (DIB), had infringed on one of its US biofuel enzymes patents.

With the new ruling, the court has found Novozymes' patent No. 7,713,723 covering certain alpha-amylase enzymes for use in the biofuel and starch industries invalid. A proposed $18.3 million (€14.1 million) settlement awarded by a jury to Novozymes will now not have to be paid.

‘We are gratified with the court's final ruling that the claims of this patent are invalid as a matter of law for lack of written description and by doing so, the court vacated the jury verdict.,’ says Soonhee Jang, VP of IP strategy and chief IP counsel at DIB.

‘Throughout this case, we were confident in our position that Novozymes’ patent is invalid and that Danisco has not infringed.  We applaud the court's decision and believe the ruling will stand on appeal.’

‘We are disappointed that the court has ruled in favour of Danisco,’ says Novozymes’ general counsel Mikkel Viltoft. ‘We disagree with the decision and will file an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Novozymes will continue to protect and defend its intellectual property rights.’