Illegal Actions to Steal Proprietary Technology Trigger Lawsuit
Against Inari
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To protect its
intellectual property, Corteva (NYSE: CTVA) today filed suit
against Inari Agriculture, Inc. and Inari Agriculture NV. As noted
in the complaint, the lawsuit "…seeks to prevent Inari from
continuing its brazen efforts to steal Corteva's groundbreaking
work." Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that
Inari deliberately used a third-party agent to obtain protected
Corteva seeds, illegally exported the seeds out of the United States, made slight genetic
modifications of the biotech traits and is seeking U.S. patents for
those modified traits.
Corteva is filing the suit in recognition of the fact that such
theft will, if left unchecked, set a dangerous precedent for the
industry: agricultural innovations take decades of research and
testing and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment to bring
to market. Corteva alone invests nearly $4
million every single day on research and development.
Investments of time and effort are equally substantial: for
example, a single crop protection product takes an average of 13
years to reach market, a biotech trait takes almost 16 years and a
new seed product can take seven years.
"Companies like ours are willing to make billions of dollars of
investments in the future of agriculture not only because we want
to contribute to the world around us, but also because we know that
if our product is effective and serves farmers well, we can recoup
our investment – and reinvest in the next game-changer," said
Sam Eathington, Corteva's chief technology and digital
officer. "Theft of proprietary technology hurts not only our
company, but also, ultimately, our nation's farmers."
Every year, advances in technology help farmers increase yields
and protect crops from devastating weeds and pests. Investments in
innovation, including those made by Corteva, have helped
American farmers, despite the historic storms, floods, droughts and
heat waves of recent years, to produce 300% more per acre today
than they did 70 years ago.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Delaware.
About Corteva Agriscience
Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) is a global pure-play agriculture
company that combines industry-leading innovation, high-touch
customer engagement and operational execution to profitably deliver
solutions for the world's most pressing agriculture challenges.
Corteva generates advantaged market preference through its unique
distribution strategy, together with its balanced and globally
diverse mix of seed, crop protection, and digital products and
services. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture
and a technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the
company is committed to maximizing productivity for farmers, while
working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills
its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who
consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. More
information can be found at www.corteva.com.
Follow Corteva on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and
YouTube.
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companies. © 2023 Corteva
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Statements
This release contains certain estimates and forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the
safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and may be
identified by their use of words like "plans," "will," "can,"
"believes," or other words of similar meaning. All statements that
address expectations about the future, including statements about
Corteva's research and development strategy are forward-looking
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to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as
required by applicable law. A detailed discussion of some of the
significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and
events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or
other estimates is included in the "Risk Factors" section of
Corteva's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as modified by subsequent
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SOURCE Corteva, Inc.