Dow AgroSciences’ lawyers from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe have tallied another victory in a patent dispute over herbicide-resistant soybean seeds. A federal magistrate judge on Monday recommended that Bayer CropScience pay $5.46 million to cover Dow’s attorney fees—marking what could be the largest such award since the U.S. Supreme Court relaxed the standard for awarding fees in meritless patent suits earlier this year.
In recommending the fee award, Delaware U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider criticized Bayer for continuing to push its patent claims, even after it was clear the “case was going nowhere,” and called Bayer’s suit “exceptionally meritless.”
