WASHINGTON (LN) — The Justice Department filed a statement of interest Monday in Corteva Agriscience LLC v. Inari Agriculture Inc., highlighting the Antitrust Division’s focus on how patent laws intersect with antitrust goals industry.
The filing, submitted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, reaffirms the government’s position that public access to patented biological material is essential for follow-on innovation and competition.
“The need for an affordable and secure food supply chain is vital for every American, and that begins with the seeds on which American farmers rely,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Dina Kallay said in the statement. “Ensuring that the path to innovation is accessible for businesses, both big and small, is essential for enabling robust competition industry and benefits consumers.”
The Antitrust Division took no position on the ultimate disposition of the underlying dispute between Corteva and Inari. Instead, the statement focused on the broader policy implications of the Patent Act, which the government described as a balance of incentives: inventors gain exclusivity over the life of the patent, but in exchange, they must publicly disclose their invention to promote the state of the art and enable follow-on innovation.
The filing notes that the U.S. seed industry is highly concentrated and characterized by high barriers to entry. It argues that reasonable access to patented seeds is crucial for enabling follow-on innovation, which in turn allows small businesses and new competitors to enter the market.
The statement comes as the Antitrust Division has established a Food Supply Chain Security Task Force to investigate anticompetitive behavior in food-related industries pursuant to Executive Order No. 14,364, addressing security risks from price fixing and anti-competitive behavior supply chain.
The Justice Department routinely files statements of interest and amicus briefs in federal court cases that implicate significant public policy interests.