SAO PAULO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A Brazilian federal judge ordered Monsanto Technology LLC and Monsanto do Brasil to deposit, in an escrow account, royalties paid to them by farmers in Mato Grosso state relative to the Bollgard II RR Flex cotton seed technology, according to a court ruling sent to Reuters on Thursday.
The Bollgard genetically modified cotton seed combines resistance to insects and weed killers, and was developed by U.S.-based Monsanto, a company taken over by Germany’s Bayer in a $63 billion transaction completed in 2018.
The court order, electronically signed by Judge Vanessa Gasques on July 13 and seen by Reuters, covers two patents linked to that seed technology - namely the “PI 0210345-1” and “PI 016460-7” - according to a copy of the ruling.
The order refers to royalties paid by the Mato Grosso farmers, who sued in July 2019, from the date they filed the legal challenge seeking to cancel the Bollgard patents, according to the ruling.
Bayer told Reuters in a statement that it would comply with the ruling.
Brazilian farmers, hoping to regain $151 million in royalty payments, claim the Bollgard genetically modified seed does not constitute a de facto technological innovation, according to the statement issued by the Mato Grosso Cotton Producers Association (AMPA) when they launched the lawsuit.
A total of four Bollgard patents could be canceled if the farmers ultimately win, court filings show, but a final ruling is pending. (Reporting by Ana Mano; editing by Jonathan Oatis)