ar ended August 31, 2012, the company’s customers included ARPA-E, Campbell Soup Company, a United States Agency for International Development, and Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. Sales and Marketing The company sells and distributes its seed products directly to its customers, which include ethanol mills, utilities, independent power producers, cellulosic biofuel companies, individual growers, and grower cooperatives. It also works with technology providers and other industry participants, such as equipment manufacturers, enzyme, or fermentation technology companies, to encourage the use of its products. The company is building its customer base primarily by forming collaborations with biorefineries, power generators, and biomass users at their existing, planned, and future facility locations. In the United States, its seed sales have been driven primarily by pilot and demonstration-scale projects with biofuel and biopower companies, as well as growers and grower associations. In Brazil, it markets and sells its sweet sorghum products directly to ethanol mills, rather than to growers, which is the prevailing practice in the seed industry, as mill operators manage all major aspects of feedstock selection and production. The company also has collaborations with international companies active in Brazil, including Amyris, Inc. and Novozymes North America, Inc. In Europe, it is also working with local institutions to build brand recognition and to advance its research, primarily in miscanthus, through its collaboration with IBERS. In addition to its collaboration with IBERS, the company is a member of the Sustainable Bioenergy Centre of the U.K.’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The company has a multi-year discovery and development collaboration with Monsanto Company focused on applying genomics technologies to identify genes that provide improvements in corn, soybean, and certain other row crops. Strategy The company’s business strategies are to expand its presence in Brazil; expand strategic collaborations to develop and market cellulosic biofuels; expand its business into new markets; build new relationships and improve established collaborations in the global biopower market; continue innovation and new product development; and continue to build its intellectual property portfolio. Its strategy is to focus on genes and gene stacks that have shown large, step increases in performance, and whose benefits are largely maintained across multiple species. Research and Development For the year ended August 31, 2012, the company spent $19.2 million on research and development, with the primary emphasis on traits and breeding. Intellectual Property As of November 7, 2012, the company owned or had exclusive licensed rights to approximately 100 issued patents and approximately 210 pending patent applications in the United States and in various foreign jurisdictions. The patents for Ceres-developed inventions are set to expire beginning in 2020. Its registered and pending trademarks in the United States and in selected foreign countries include Ceres, The Energy Crop Company, Blade Energy Crops, Blade, and Skyscraper. Regulatory Matters Under the Plant Protection Act of 2000, regulatory approval is required before the introduction, including the environmental release, interstate movement, and importation, of certain genetically engineered organisms, including majority of its biotechnology products. The primary U.S. regulatory agency overseeing field testing and deregulation for commercialization of its biotechnology products is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Biotechnology Regulatory Services, within the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, has direct oversight of the field-testing and deregulation of the company’s biotechnology products. History Ceres, Inc. was founded in 1996. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1996.