The Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has upheld the validity of three dispersible granule technology patents owned by The Andersons. The patents were challenged in response to a patent infringement lawsuit filed by The Andersons in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Enviro Granulation LLC, Plant Science Inc. and Harrell's LLC. The decision allows The Andersons' lawsuit to continue. The Board ruled that the petitions failed to establish a reasonable likelihood of prevailing in challenging the validity of the claims of any of the three patents.
The Andersons introduced its dispersible granular technology in 2004 under the brand name Contec DG.
Enviro Granulation manufactures a water-dispersible pellet fertilizer and sells it to Plant Science, which markets it under the name Tru-Prill. Harrell's distributes Tru-Prill to end users in the turf market. The patent-infringement suit was initiated in late 2013.