Federal Circuit denies rehearing of Bayer’s $455m award

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has rejected Dow Agro Sciences’ petition for a rehearing of the court’s March decision which affirmed a $455 million damages award in favour of Bayer.

A panel and en banc rehearing were rejected on Friday, May 12, after the Federal Circuit partially affirmed a ruling by a district court in March.

The case arose after Bayer sued Dow in 2012 for infringing four of its patents related to genetically engineered plant cells.

US patent numbers 5,561,236; 5,646,024; 5,648,477; and 7,112,665 were involved.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia had handed victory to Bayer, which Dow appealed against at the Federal Circuit.

The case involves an international arbitration tribunal’s decision on a contract claim under French law and patent infringement claims under US laws.

In the dispute, the tribunal awarded Bayer approximately $455 million, including damages for breach of contract and patent infringement, and Dow was ordered to pay a rate for post-award interest of 8%.

In the appeal, which was first ruled on in early March, the Federal Circuit concluded that the district court had earlier correctly confirmed the award, “but abused its discretion regarding post-judgment interest”.