District court upholds herbal extract patents
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Herbal extract firm Sabinsa Corp. retains exclusive proprietary rights to BioPerine (piperine black pepper extract) and Forslean (coleus forkskohlii), the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey says in a June 27 final judgment against DNP International. The ruling upholds the validity and enforceability of the '382, '596 and '712 patents pertaining to Sabinsa's products. DNP agreed to discontinue importing, manufacturing and/or marketing piperine, coleus and coleus oil for sale in the United States. Sabinsa sued DNP for patent infringement because it marketed and distributed piperine and coleus for uses previously researched and patented by Sabinsa in the late 1960s, the company says. Piscataway, N.J.-based Sabinsa manufactures Phytonutrients and Ayurvedic herbal extracts for nutritional, pharmaceutical and food products...