DuPont settles patent infringement case against Chinese company

03 Aug 2007

DuPont has settled a patent infringement lawsuit it filed earlier this year against Trustchem Co., Ltd., also known as Jiangsu Trustchem Chemicals Co., Ltd., in China. Under the terms of the settlement, Trustchem will pay monetary compensation and make a public apology to DuPont for losses resulting from Trustchem actions. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

DuPont initiated the lawsuit in the Nanjing, Jiangsu Province in March in response to illegal Trustchem sales of agricultural products containing rimsulfuron, which are protected by a DuPont patent in China. Rimsulfuron is an active ingredient in crop protection herbicides that are marketed around the world under the Titus®, Matrix® and Resolve® trademarks.

This lawsuit represents part of an ongoing DuPont Crop Protection program to protect its intellectual property rights worldwide. Based on these investigations, DuPont has filed similar patent infringement actions against several other companies, issued numerous "cease and desist" letters and is actively investigating several other businesses in China that are suspected of violating DuPont patents.

"DuPont aggressively protects its intellectual property and will enforce its rights to prevent counterfeiting of its product, infringement of its patents and trademarks, theft of its trade secrets and other illegal activities," said Glen Baldwin, lead counsel for DuPont Crop Protection. Through vigorous enforcement of its intellectual property rights, DuPont intends to preserve the value of its proprietary products and protect the best interests of its customers, particularly growers who have come to rely on the quality of DuPont products.