Sabinsa's ForsLean protected
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Sabinsa prevails with an appellate court ruling that Creative Compounds' Forsthin brand infringed on the nutritional supplement ingredient supplier's ForsLean trademark. The East Windsor, N.J., firm said July 14 the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a federal district court judgment in favor of Creative Compounds and ordered a judgment entered in favor of Sabinsa without a new trial. According to the ruling, Sabinsa first marketed ForsLean (coleus forskohlii) to manufacturers in 2000 as an ingredient to promote lean body mass and later created pamphlets marketing the ingredient directly to consumers. Scott City, Mo.-based Creative Compounds began selling its forskohlin product in 2002, but did not adopt the brand Forsthin until the spring of 2004, prompting a cease-and-desist letter from Sabinsa. Sabinsa in 2007 retained exclusive U.S. proprietary rights to ForsLean with a U.S. district court patent infringement judgment against DNP International (1"The Tan Sheet" July 9, 2007, In Brief)