AKER BIOMARINE ASA 
By
On December 19, 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark
Office granted Aker BioMarine's request for reexamination of
US patent number 8,030,348 assigned to Neptune Technologies &
Bioressources. The reexamination was granted on all 21 claims
of the patent and in view of multiple references presented to
the USPTO by Aker BioMarine.
This is the patent that Neptune has asserted against Aker
BioMarine and certain other companies in recent lawsuits in
Delaware. In its decision the USPTO states that: [Aker
BioMarine's] request for inter partes reexamination
establishes a reasonable likelihood that [Aker BioMarine]
will prevail with respect to claims 1-21 of the United States
Patent Number 8,030,348. In affirming the rejections, the
Examiner notes that the originally granted patent claims
minimally read on fresh krill meat, a product that was of
course not invented by Neptune. The USPTO's decision can be
downloaded from their home page.
We are very confident with regard to our freedom to operate from Neptune's patents worldwide, and this decision from the USPTO confirms what we already knew, namely that the '348 patent was only granted because the USPTO was not provided with relevant prior art during its prosecution. Neptune should now withdraw its frivolous lawsuits, stop sending intimidating letters to distributors and marketing companies, and rather focus on competing fairly in the marketplace.
As to the likely outcome of the reexamination, the industry should take guidance from the USPTO's publically available statistics which shows that in 89% of cases where reexamination is granted the claims are either changed (45%) or cancelled completely (44%).
We are aware that Neptune's recent lawsuits have created some uncertainty in the marketplace, and encourage interested parties to contact us with remaining questions or doubts in this regard.
For more information, please contact:
Matts Johansen, EVP Sales and Marketing, Aker BioMarine: + 47 2413 00 00
Hallvard Muri, CEO Aker BioMarine: +47 24 13 00 00
We are very confident with regard to our freedom to operate from Neptune's patents worldwide, and this decision from the USPTO confirms what we already knew, namely that the '348 patent was only granted because the USPTO was not provided with relevant prior art during its prosecution. Neptune should now withdraw its frivolous lawsuits, stop sending intimidating letters to distributors and marketing companies, and rather focus on competing fairly in the marketplace.
As to the likely outcome of the reexamination, the industry should take guidance from the USPTO's publically available statistics which shows that in 89% of cases where reexamination is granted the claims are either changed (45%) or cancelled completely (44%).
We are aware that Neptune's recent lawsuits have created some uncertainty in the marketplace, and encourage interested parties to contact us with remaining questions or doubts in this regard.
For more information, please contact:
Matts Johansen, EVP Sales and Marketing, Aker BioMarine: + 47 2413 00 00
Hallvard Muri, CEO Aker BioMarine: +47 24 13 00 00
| distribué par | Ce noodl a été diffusé par Aker BioMarine ASA et initialement mise en ligne sur le site http://www.akerbiomarine.com. La version originale est disponible ici. Ce noodl a été distribué par noodls dans son format d'origine et sans modification sur 2011-12-22 14:07:43 PM et restera accessible depuis ce lien permanent. Cette annonce est protégée par les règles du droit d'auteur et toute autre loi applicable, et son propriétaire est seul responsable de sa véracité et de son originalité. |
