LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A settlement was reached this week after four days of a jury trial in Corteva Agriscience LLC's lawsuit against Inari Agriculture for allegedly acquiring hundreds of Corteva patented corn and soybean seed lines and trying to develop them as their own.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed, according to a news release and court documents filed in federal court in Delaware.

Corteva filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 2023, outlining an Inari scheme that allegedly shortcut decades of Corteva's breeding work, making genetic modifications to plant variety protection-protected corn and soybean seeds and seeking patent protection on those modifications.

"As part of the settlement, Inari has agreed to destroy Corteva material it accessed from seed depositories and material developed from the deposits and assign to Corteva the intellectual property related to its edited versions of Corteva events," Corteva said in a news release.

"In addition, Corteva and Inari have agreed to negotiate certain licensing arrangements. Other terms of the settlement are confidential."

Corteva-owned Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., and Agrigenetics Inc., also were plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Corteva's complaint alleged Inari obtained hundreds of Corteva seed lines from the American Type Culture Collection, or ATCC, and hired a Massachusetts consulting firm, Infinite-Eversole Specialty Crop Services, as an intermediary.

Inari then allegedly exported the seeds from the U.S. to the company's facility in Ghent, Belgium, according to the complaint.

Corteva alleged that Massachusetts-based Inari intended to use the seed germplasm for commercial product development rather than limited noncommercial research purposes allowed by the ATCC.

Inari is alleged to have obtained 110 Corteva seed lines in May 2020, 274 seed lines in September 2020 and 12 more seed lines in October 2021.

"The seeds at issue in this complaint reflect nearly 100 years of such careful selection and breeding that has resulted in the increased productivity seen in today's agriculture," Corteva said in the original lawsuit.

Corteva said it learned about Inari's work during a video conference with Inari's chief executive officer on Sept. 14, 2021, when the company allegedly disclosed it had already been working on two Corteva traits and had plans to commercialize them.

"At the time, Inari had no business relationship with Corteva that would have allowed Inari to use either of these events," Corteva said in the lawsuit.

Companies often deposit biological samples with the ATCC when seeking patents, according to the complaint. Those deposits then become available for inspection after a patent is issued.

The ATCC's material transfer agreement, however, limits use to non-commercial research and forbids unauthorized transfers and commercial exploitation, according to the lawsuit.

Corteva sought monetary damages, enhanced damages for "willful conduct," attorney's fees, the return of Corteva seeds and derivatives, permanent injunctions barring further use or commercialization, as well as disclosure of all Corteva seed lines obtained by Inari.

"Global patent and plant-variety protection systems that protect agricultural innovation help promote continued investment, competition and collaboration in the development of improved seed products that benefit farmers," Corteva said in a news release.

"Patent depositories and their procedures on access to biological material serve an important function as part of these systems. The rulings in this case reinforce applicable rights with respect to seed deposits. Corteva and Inari agree that it is important to abide by applicable patent and other laws and contracts relating to deposited materials."

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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