CORRECTION: FMC sent out a press release last week regarding a pair of lawsuits it is involved in with Makhteshim Agan of North America. Today, FMC issued the following correction: "In regards to the copyright infringement lawsuits involving FMC Corporation and Makhteshim Agan of North America, we are working to seek a settlement with Makhteshim Agan, however, no settlement has been reached yet."
Here is the original release:
PHILADELPHIA — FMC Corporation and Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc. (MANA) have settled two lawsuits between them.
In May 2005, MANA initiated a lawsuit in federal court in New York, in which it requested a declaration that FMC could not claim copyright in its pesticide product labels. In July 2005, FMC brought an action against MANA in federal court in Philadelphia, in which FMC claimed that the label used by MANA in connection with the sale of its Fanfare 2 EC pesticide infringed FMC’s copyright in the label for its Capture 2 EC pesticide product. As part of the settlement MANA consented to stop using the version of its Fanfare 2 EC label that had been the subject of FMC’s complaint; and FMC agreed that MANA’s revised label for Fanfare 2 EC, currently submitted to the EPA for approval as part of the agreement to settle, does not infringe FMC’s label.
As a result of their settlement, FMC is dismissing its claims against MANA in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and MANA is dismissing its claims against FMC in the Southern District of New York.