After a court battle lasting more than three years, DuPont has come out on top in an appeals court case. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has affirmed a May 2012 decision by Judge Barbara Crabb, who ruled the Novozymes patent on an alpha-amylase enzyme used in the ethanol industry is invalid for lack of an adequate written description.
"We are gratified the Court of Appeals affirmed the Wisconsin court&rsquo;s ruling that the Novozymes patent is invalid,&rdquo; said Soonhee Jang, vice president, intellectual property (IP) strategy and chief IP counsel, DuPont Industrial Biosciences, in a prepared statement. &ldquo;From the outset of this case, we have firmly believed Novozymes&rsquo; patent to be invalid.&rdquo;
Novozymes responded with a statement of its own. &ldquo;We are disappointed that the court has ruled in favor of Dupont,&rdquo; said Novozymes General Counsel Mikkel Viltoft. &ldquo;We will now evaluate the decision and our options. Novozymes will continue to protect and defend its intellectual property rights.&rdquo;
Novozymes originally filed the lawsuit in May 2010 against Danisco and the company&rsquo;s enzymes division, Genencor International, businesses acquired by DuPont in 2011. A jury <a href="http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/8298/novozymes-comes-out-on-top-in-patent-lawsuit-against-danisco" target="_blank">ruled </a>in October 2011 that Novozymes patent was infringed on and the company was awarded damages of $18.2 million.&nbsp;However, a judge <a href="http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/8790/judge-finds-in-favor-of-danisco-reverses-ruling-for-novozymes" target="_blank">reversed</a> that ruling in May 2012.
The case was appealed, resulting in a July 22 affirmation of the district court judgment. In a 32-page court opinion, the court concluded that the patent failed to satisfy the written description requirement and was invalid.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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DuPont has won an appeals court case. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has affirmed a May 2012 decision that an alpha-amylase enzyme patent held by Novozymes is invalid due to lack of adequate written description. 

DuPont wins appeals court case, Novozymes patent ruled invalid

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