Monsanto and DuPont trial goes to jury

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A patent dispute between Monsanto Co. and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. over genetically modified seeds has gone to a jury in federal court in St. Louis, in a trial that could leave DuPont paying $1 billion to Monsanto.

Monsanto and DuPont are the two largest producers of seeds in the United States, and both produce genetically modified seeds. 

Genetically modified seeds, such as Monsanto’s Roundup Ready varieties and DuPont’s version known as GAT, make up about $13.3 billion of the $34 billion seed industry, according to Bloomberg.

Monsanto claims that DuPont infringed its patent by combining the GAT trait and the Roundup Ready trait in lines of soybeans. 

DuPont has claimed that the patent is unenforceable because Monsanto “deceived” the government to get it by claiming the gene used was different from one used in a similar product made by Calgene Inc., according to Bloomberg. 

Monsanto’s patent on the technology that allows seeds to be unaffected by herbicide expires in 2014, according to Bloomberg.