FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC), a leading global agricultural sciences company, announced that the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang Province, China, granted FMC Agro Singapore Pte. Ltd a pre-suit preliminary injunction to stop infringement of a chlorantraniliprole patent. Chlorantraniliprole is FMC’s leading insecticide ingredient branded as Rynaxypyr active.
The pre-suit preliminary injunction restrains Zhejiang Yongtai Technology Co. Ltd. (“Yongtai Technology”) from engaging in any activity of offering to sell chlorantraniliprole until FMC’s patent expires, including by doing so at trade fairs.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision, which reflects its understanding of the urgency of this matter and its impact on the crop protection market in China,” said Michael Reilly, FMC executive vice president, general counsel and secretary.
The principles decided by the Court are also significant for future infringement actions, as being one of the very few cases anywhere in China where a trial court has granted pre-suit injunctive relief under the China Patent Law and standards outlined by the Chinese Supreme Court.
The Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court determined that Yongtai Technology’s infringing acts violated the China Patent Law and created a need for urgent relief to protect FMC’s patent rights.
For nearly four decades, FMC has provided proprietary insect, disease, and weed control technologies to ensure that Chinese farmers have access to world-class product technologies.
The company employs more than 600 people in China, where it operates a world-class innovation center in Shanghai and two manufacturing facilities in Shanghai and Jiangsu.
“Our intellectual property rights are an essential tool to drive innovation and continued investment in the Chinese crop protection market,” said Pramod Thota, interim president for FMC’s Asia Pacific Region and president of FMC U.S.A. “This decision reinforces the value of our commitment to bring innovative, highquality crop protection solutions to growers in China and around the world.”
