ST. LOUIS, March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. corporate giants Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co. said Tuesday they had settled their legal disputes over engineered soybean licensing.
The agreements include permission for DuPont to license two variations of soybeans in exchange for payments totaling $1.75 billion, the companies said in a release.
"This technology exchange helps both companies to expand the range of innovative solutions we can offer farmers, and to do so faster than either of us could alone," DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler said.
"The agreements broaden the Pioneer soybean lineup. Importantly, they give us greater flexibility in developing combinations of genetics and traits to help feed an increasingly crowded planet," he said.
The deal includes a legal cease-fire. Monsanto will drop a patent infringement suit against DuPont for Roundup Ready soybeans, Delawareonline reported.
In return, DuPont will drop its counter suit against Monsanto that claimed the St. Louis agricultural giant was using its size to squash competition in the industry.
"Clearly this is a smart deal for DuPont Pioneer," Schickler said.
The momentum in the legal battle had most recently appeared to be going in Monsanto's favor. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department dropped an investigation into Monsanto's alleged monopoly tactics.
A jury in St. Louis last year also ruled against DuPont, awarding Monsanto $1 billion in damages for patent infringement, Delawareonline reported.
