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News Releases BCPC closes manufacturers' stands because of patent infringements at exhibition 24th October 2006 A number of companies were given warnings, and three were required to cease commercial activities, at the BCPC Crop Science and Technology Exhibition held in Glasgow, UK from 23 - 25 October 2006. Notices were served on exhibitors promoting compounds protected under UK patents by lawyers Biggart Baillie, acting for R&D-based crop protection companies BASF, Syngenta, Bayer CropScience and Dupont. In advance of the 2006 exhibition, both BCPC and the R&D-based companies involved, issued a number of explanations and warnings to exhibitors. The aim was to help them understand the nature and consequences of possible infringements. Nevertheless, a few companies were found to be promoting patented compounds. Dr Colin Ruscoe, Chairman of BCPE Ltd, said: "We repeatedly made it clear to exhibitors before the event that we forbid the promotion of products protected by other companies' patents. We provided assistance to the R&D-based companies and closed the stands of offending exhibitors for breaching our terms and conditions. They will not be permitted to exhibit in 2007. We continue to welcome all companies to the exhibition, provided they are promoting their products in the UK legally." This follows a similar episode during the 2005 BCPC International Congress and Exhibition. Then, 37 injunctions relating to patent infringement were served on 20 Chinese companies by Biggart Baillie on behalf of BASF, Bayer CropScience and Syngenta. BCPC closed down the stands of two of these companies who had failed to comply with those injunctions, and barred them from the 2006 exhibition. |
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