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Bayer CropScience to enforce its Mefenpyr patent


WEBWIRE

Intellectual property (IP) rights are the basis for innovation
Monheim, April 2008 – Bayer CropScience recently filed a lawsuit against the Chinese company Jiangsu Tian Rong in an intermediate court in Jiang Su, to enforce rights under its Chinese Mefenpyr patent. The company claims that the defendant unlawfully produced Mefenpyr in mixture with Fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and sold the product to local farmers as well as to customers in other countries in Asia.

Mefenpyr is a proprietary Bayer CropScience safener additive. Safener are added to herbicides to protect crops by ensuring the rapid degradation of the herbicidal substance in crop plants. Mefenpyr is marketed in mixtures with the herbicidal active ingredient Fenoxaprop-P-ethyl under the brand name Puma® and is under patent protection in China and many other countries. Said Dr. Ralf-Rüdiger Jesse, Head of Patents & Licensing at Bayer CropScience: “We are confident of success in this case because based on Chinese law not only the manufacturing but also the export is prohibited for active ingredients still under the protection of valid patents.”

China is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world and Bayer CropScience is systematically expanding its involvement in this country. Christophe Dumont, Head of the Strategic Business Entity Herbicides commented that “Strong patent protection is the basis for our innovation power. Therefore, we are determined to further enforce our patent rights against illegal producers in China with all the legal remedies at our disposal.” The company is determined to maintain its high level of investment in research and development to offer Chinese farmers modern crop protection solutions that meet local needs. “Without the protection of patents, innovation is all but impossible. Hence we recognize the efforts being made by the Chinese government to establish clear rules and regulations for the recognition of intellectual property (IP) rights”, Dumont added.

Bayer CropScience is fully committed to Product Stewardship in line with the principles of Sustainable Development and the responsible use of its products. “Illegal production and trade of products do not only violate Bayer CropScience´s patent rights. Unlawfully manufactured crop protection products can also threaten harvest quality and yields, present hazards to applicators and potentially put the environment and the health of consumers at an unacceptable risk”, explained Dumont.

Puma®, launched in 1987 is a leading cereal grass herbicide in the world. It can be used on wheat, rye, triticale and barley against a wide weed grass spectrum including wild oats, foxtails and black grass. Amongst the benefits to the farmer are the high levels of efficacy, the excellent crop safety and the tank mixture flexibility of Puma®. In the People’s Republic of China, Puma® Super has become the standard for effective grass weed control in cereal crops.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 5.8 billion (2007), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of about 17,800 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.newsroom.bayercropscience.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those described by Bayer in published reports. These reports are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.



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