(By Balaseshan) Gevo Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO), a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company, said it is filing a motion for preliminary injunction against Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC and E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co. (NYSE:DD) for isobutanol-producing yeast patent dispute.
Gevo is seeking injunction to immediately stop ongoing infringement by Butamax and DuPont of a Gevo patent covering the production of isobutanol with genetically engineered microorganisms.
The request for a preliminary injunction involves Gevo's U.S. Patent No. 8,133,715 (the '715 Patent), which covers a production process using isobutanol-producing yeast. Gevo's request for preliminary injunction follows a lawsuit filed March 13, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, which alleges that Butamax and DuPont infringe the '715 Patent.
Gevo is requesting that the District Court intervene to immediately halt ongoing infringement of the '715 Patent by Butamax and DuPont. Gevo's patent portfolio includes more than 400 patents and patent applications.
The company said Isobutanol is an extremely versatile molecule that can be used for production of everything from the gasoline blendstock of the future to jet fuel and from automotive tires to soft drink bottles.
"Today, we are asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction to halt a particularly egregious ongoing infringement of one of many patents we hold covering our advanced, field-proven, commercial-scale, production technology," said Brett Lund, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Gevo.
The '715 Patent covers technology that dramatically improves isobutanol production. It achieves this result by eliminating a pathway in native yeast that 'hijacks' carbohydrates away from the isobutanol pathway.
GEVO is trading up 8.50% at $4.34 on Monday, while DD trades up 1.19% at $50.06.