Counsel for Monsanto retained Cornerstone Research and Dr. Michael Keeley of Cornerstone Research to analyze damages in a patent infringement case Monsanto brought against DuPont and one of DuPont’s subsidiaries, Pioneer Hi-Bred International.
Retained by Winston & Strawn and Husch Blackwell
Counsel for Monsanto retained Cornerstone Research and Dr. Michael Keeley, a senior vice president at Cornerstone Research, to analyze damages in a patent infringement case Monsanto brought against DuPont and one of DuPont’s subsidiaries, Pioneer Hi-Bred International. Monsanto claimed that, as a result of the infringement, Pioneer gained an illegal six-year head start in the development and commercialization of its infringing soybean seed product that used Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready® technology.
The jury awarded Monsanto $1 billion in damages.
Dr. Keeley estimated damages that resulted from the illegal head start based on DuPont/Pioneer’s own projections. Dr. Keeley found that damages ranged between $800 million and $1.2 billion.
The case was tried before a jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The jury found the patent was valid, all the asserted patent claims were infringed, and that infringement was willful. The jury awarded Monsanto $1 billion in damages.