An important genetic patent for cattle breeding has been tied up in legal action.

US-based Branhaven LLC, which owns the rights to nearly two-thirds of Australia's cattle genetics, has been denied access to its intellectual property following a freeze imposed by the Supreme Court of Victoria.

It is part of a court case launched in 2016 by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and Dairy Australia, which has heard allegations that Branhaven did not pay its bills.

The lobbies have successfully obtained an injunction through the Court.

The freezing orders and injunctions prevent Branhaven from accessing the patent or any costs or damages it would be awarded if the patent was infringed.

The patent, first written in 2003 and filed in Australia in 2010, covers methods for identifying genetic traits in cattle through genetic markers called SNPs — single nucleotide polymorphisms, pronounced 'snips'.

The patent identifies 2,510 specific SNPs — out of billions throughout the genome — but extends to a large region of 500,000 base pairs of DNA either side of each of the 2,510 identified.

There is a lot of concern about the patent’s considerable width, with researchers saying their current work could infringe on the patent.

The field of genetics is not what it was when the patent was first written in 2003, with many millions more SNPs having been located since.

Both parties will appear before the Court again in July.