Butamax files lawsuit against Gevo

Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC, a technology leader in biobutanol, released a statement regarding Gevo’s allegations on patent infringement.”Gevo has filed a lawsuit against Butamax in reaction to the KARI patent infringement lawsuit we filed against Gevo on March 12. This, like other Gevo counterclaims, has no legitimate basis,” said Butamax CEO Paul Beckwith. On May 12, the company filed a new lawsuit against Gevo for infringing Butamax’s patent 8,129,162. The patent covers commercially-relevant recombinant KARI enzymes which is not limited to Pseudomonas enzymes. This development offers biofuel producers a highly efficient production pathway for the low-cost manufacture of biobutanol. Beckwith explained that Gevo was given a patent on a very specific KARI enzyme, while the KARI patent of Butamax is broader and the enzyme of Grevo falls within the scope of Butamax’s patent. “As the biobutanol pioneer, Butamax has complete freedom to operate and the same cannot be said for Gevo. We will continue to vigorously defend our rights and will seek every available remedy to stop Gevo’s ongoing infringement.” (March 14, 2012)