Agricultural Sciences & Technology

Cooley has served as primary IP counsel to Zymergen since its founding, helping the company to navigate IP diligence through various funding rounds and establish a robust IP estate. Zymergen, a synthetic biology and biofacturing company developing molecules used in industries including agriculture, chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, electronics and more, recently had a successful debut on the public markets with a NASDAQ listing in 2021.

Cooley’s IP team provides guidance on all aspects of IP matters, helping the company to protect its foundational high-throughput genomic engineering platform and various contributions to the field of synthetic biology.

Cooley has served as primary IP counsel to Nobell Foods since its founding, helping the company to protect its innovative contributions aimed at making the world’s food systems more humane and sustainable. Nobell Foods is utilizing the power of plants to reimagine the world’s food supply and produce delicious cheese from plant-derived dairy proteins. The company recently completed a $75 million Series B in 2021 to help bring its vision to the world.

Cooley secured a successful resolution for Charlotte’s Web, a leader in the hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) industry, in a federal trademark and false advertising dispute with AAXLL Supply Co, owner of the Balance CBD brand, in the Northern District of California. Charlotte's Web filed a complaint against AAXLL on April 17, 2020 in which it alleged that AAXLL infringed Charlotte's Web's rights in its CHARLOTTE'S WEB trademark and had misrepresented that certain AAXLL products shared a terpene profile with hemp cultivars developed by Charlotte's Web. Under a stipulated judgment, AAXLL acknowledged that the CHARLOTTE'S WEB mark is a valid and protectable trademark, all rights, title and interest to which are owned by Charlotte’s Web. AAXLL further admitted to trademark infringement and also agreed to stop using the CHARLOTTE'S WEB trademark in connection with advertising and promoting CBD products.

Cooley advised AppHarvest, a leading public agtech company and certified B Corp, on its acquisition of Root AI, an AI farming startup that creates intelligent robots to help manage high-tech indoor farms. In addition to advising on corporate matters, Cooley's IP team handled all patent due diligence aspects of the deal. Partner Josh Holleman led the Cooley team advising AppHarvest.

Read more

Cooley advised Momofuku Goods, a brand of restaurant-grade pantry staples, on its $17.5 million Series A financing led by Siddhi Capital. The new funding will allow Momofuku to expand product offerings and support its growing operations, which includes scaling its team and marketing efforts.

“We spent a decade testing and developing our pantry essentials, ensuring that they were up to the standards we uphold in our restaurants,” David Chang, celebrity chef and founder of Momofuku restaurant group, said in a press statement. “With this investment, I’m looking forward to bringing even more flavor to home cooks’ kitchens.” Founded by the team behind Momofuku restaurants, Momofuku Goods offers a range of products, including chili crunch oil, air-dried noodles, soy sauce, rice vinegar and seasoned salts that are sold online and in more than 2,000 retail stores.

Winston Gu and Yvan-Claude Pierre led the Cooley team, which also included Len Jacoby, JP Oleksiuk, Jonathan Rivinus, Robert Eisenbach, Joyce Kim, Chris Chynoweth, Andrew Mettry, Bomin Kim and Noah Belsky.

Cooley advised AppHarvest, a developer and operator of large-scale, high-tech controlled environment indoor farms, on its agreement to combine with Novus Capital, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC. The transaction advances AppHarvest’s mission to redefine American agriculture and to build America’s agtech capital in the heart of Appalachia. Lawyers Derek Colla, John McKenna, David Silverman, Katie Kazem and Rishab Kumar led the Cooley team advising AppHarvest on the agreement. 

Cooley advised BrightFarms on its $100 million Series E financing. Partner Mark Medearis led the Cooley team advising BrightFarms, which is a leading next-generation indoor farming company supplying U.S. grocery retailers with packaged salad greens.

Cooley advised AgroSpheres on its $22 million Series B financing and led intellectual property due diligence in connection with the round. Cooley counsels AgroSpheres with respect to corporate matters and is the architect behind development of the company’s ever-expanding patent portfolio.

AgroSpheres’ biomanufacturing platform enables cost-effective manufacturing and successful field application of novel biological modalities. The unprecedented field success of foliar-applied AgriCell-RNAi technologies has garnered significant industry interest.

“In this unprecedented bear market, food security, environmental footprint, and supply chain resilience are of paramount importance,” said Payam Pourtaheri, founder and CEO of AgroSpheres. “We are thankful for the support from our partners at Lewis & Clark, OAS, Bidra, and Cavallo, as we take significant strides towards our vision of a future built by nature’s technologies and bring our biobased technologies to partners globally.”

Cooley advised Vital Farms, a certified B Corporation and Delaware public benefit corporation that offers a range of ethically produced pasture-raised food products nationwide, on its $235.4 million initial public offering of 10,699,573 shares of common stock, which includes the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. The transaction represents Cooley’s first completed IPO for a certified B Corporation. Partners Mike Lincoln, Nicole Brookshire, Darren DeStefano and Jaime Chase led the Cooley team advising Vital Farms. 

Cooley has served as primary IP counsel to Nobell Foods since its founding, helping the company to protect its innovative contributions aimed at making the world’s food systems more humane and sustainable. Nobell Foods is utilizing the power of plants to reimagine the world’s food supply and produce delicious cheese from plant-derived dairy proteins. The company recently completed a $75 million Series B in 2021 to help bring its vision to the world.