Gevo Dismisses Butamax Patent Infringement Lawsuit; Scope Mirrors ‘188 Patent Previously Rejected by USPTO

Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), a leading renewable chemicals and next-generation biofuels company, commented on the lawsuit filed today by Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels, LLC (Butamax) alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,178,328 (‘328 Patent).

“The claims in the ‘328 Patent are virtually identical to the claims in Butamax’s earlier-issued 7,851,188 Patent (‘188 Patent) which were recently rejected and declared unpatentable by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during reexamination,” said Brett Lund, Gevo’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel. “The ‘328 Patent issued from a child application of the ‘188 Patent and purports to cover engineered isobutanol-producing microorganisms.”

“Like Butamax’s ‘188 Patent, the technology described in the ‘328 Patent was invented by others and repeatedly described in journal publications dating back to the 1960s,” continued Lund. “We will request reexamination of the ‘328 Patent using similar arguments and are extremely confident that the outcome will be the same.”

About Gevo

Gevo is converting existing ethanol plants into biorefineries to make renewable building block products for the chemical and fuel industries. The Company plans to convert renewable raw materials into isobutanol and renewable hydrocarbons that can be directly integrated on a “drop in” basis into existing chemical and fuel products to deliver environmental and economic benefits. Gevo is committed to a sustainable biobased economy that meets society’s needs for plentiful food and clean air and water. For more information, visit www.gevo.com

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