(Reuters) — A small North Carolina agriculture business is accusing a fertilizer company owned by the billionaire Koch brothers of trying to drive it out of business.
The claim by Eco Agro Resources came in a court filing in U.S. District Court in North Carolina in early September in response to an August patent infringement lawsuit against it by Koch Agronomic Services.
Koch Agronomic is part of Koch Industries Inc., led by brothers David and Charles Koch, two of the world’s richest men.
Eco Agro, which is based in High Point, North Carolina and has $5 million in sales so far in 2014, denied violating Koch’s patent, contended it was invalid and said Koch Agronomic has filed multiple infringement lawsuits to stifle competition.
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At issue is a patent involving enhanced or “stabilized” nitrogen fertilizer, which is considered more efficient for agricultural crops and has a growing market.
Stabilizers reduce the dissipation of nitrogen into the air and ground water, cutting pollution and increasing crop yield.
Melissa Cohlmia, a spokeswoman for Koch Agronomic, said Eco Agro’s claims are without merit and that Koch was preparing to file a motion seeking to have them dismissed.
Eco Agro chief executive officer Andrew Semple, a former vice-president of international sales for Koch Agronomic, said his company’s new N-Yield product and Koch’s market-leading Agrotain each contain three ingredients, two of which are the same: N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and propylene glycol.
Eco Agro says N-Yield’s third ingredient makes it different and an improvement over Agrotain.
“We’re not trying to impersonate their product,” Semple said. He estimated the untapped global market potential for the fertilizers at US $5.6 billion.
Eco Agro claims that Koch is suing under a patent that was obtained from the U.S. Patent Office by a previous owner based on a false claim that was rejected by the European Patent Office, according to the court case.
Eco Agro claims that Koch’s dominance is furthered by an exclusive supply agreement with the only U.S. producer of NBPT, the main active ingredient in stabilized nitrogen fertilizers, leaving competitors to acquire the product from China.
