Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) today filed suit against Syngenta for infringement of Monsanto's patent covering the fundamental technique used in producing glyphosate-tolerant plants, including the GA21(R) glyphosate-tolerance trait in corn.

Filed in the U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., Monsanto's suit requests a permanent injunction against Syngenta preventing its commercial sale in the United States of any corn using Monsanto's patented technology. In pursuing commercialization of GA21(R) corn, Syngenta is in violation of Patent No. 4,940,835, which covers genes and vectors conferring glyphosate resistance in plants.

"Monsanto has clear intellectual property rights that have been infringed by Syngenta's use of GA21(R) corn as a part of its commercial strategy in the United States," said Tom DeGroot, associate general counsel for Monsanto.  "We intend to request an injunction against the sale or distribution in the United States of any GA21(R) corn by Syngenta."

Syngenta announced today that it had purchased GA21(R) glyphosate tolerance technology for corn from Bayer CropScience and intends to use and market GA21(R) corn in the United States.

The GA21(R) technology has largely been phased out in the marketplace in favor of an improved glyphosate-tolerant event called "NK603," which has been in the market since 2001.  Today, Monsanto's NK603 is commercially marketed as "Roundup Ready(R) Corn 2."

The NK603 technology is standard in Monsanto's DEKALB and Asgrow brands and is licensed for use by independent corn seed companies throughout the United States.  Additionally, NK603 has obtained a broad number of regulatory clearances globally and is in the final stages of the regulatory review process in the European Union.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.