MOLINE, Ill., June 1, 2018 /CNW/ -- Deere & Company (NYSE:
DE) today took legal action against Precision Planting LLC and AGCO
Corporation, claiming that the companies have infringed on 12 John
Deere patents.
The Deere patents relate to several of the unique and inventive
aspects of John Deere planting equipment, many of which are
embodied in the state-of-the-art technology Deere has named
ExactEmerge™.
Deere filed the complaint in the
United States District Court in Delaware, asserting that it has suffered
damages because of the infringement and will continue to suffer
such damages if the infringement continues.
The lawsuit states that products made or sold by Precision
Planting, including vSet seed meters along with SpeedTube products,
infringe on Deere patents. AGCO acquired Precision Planting in
September 2017.
The inventions protected by Deere's patents allow farmers to
achieve accurate seed placement, uniform seed spacing, and even
crop emergence while planting at higher speeds than had been
possible in the past.
Introduced by Deere in 2014, the breakthrough ExactEmerge™
planter addressed the limitations of earlier equipment, relying on
innovative features that allow growers to plant corn and soybean
seeds at speeds up to about 10 miles per hour, about double the
long-thought limit, while delivering accurate seed placement and
spacing.
The technology reduces planting time, minimizes waste, and
improves production yields, thereby helping the grower to improve
profit margins. Deere states in the court filing that it has not
licensed or otherwise authorized use of its patents by Precision
Planting or AGCO.
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a world
leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed
to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land -
those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the
land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food,
fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has
delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a
tradition of integrity.
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SOURCE Deere & Company