Martek gains strength in patent lawsuit
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Martek Biosciences announces Nov. 1 a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware will enter a permanent injunction against Lonza, Ltd., Nutrinova Inc. and Nutrinova Nutrition Specialties & Food Ingredients GmbH in a patent infringement suit. In October, a court in Dusseldorf, Germany made a verbal order in favor of DHA marketer Martek Biosciences in its European patent infringement lawsuit against Lonza (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 29, 2007, In Brief). The suit involves Lonza's U.S. sale of fatty acid product Lonza DHA for use in functional foods and dietary supplements. The U.S. judge upheld the October 2006 jury verdict that Lonza infringed on Martek's three patents (2"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 30, 2006, p. 13). Columbia, Md.-based Martek says it expects Lonza to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. "The permanent injunction will be in effect pending any appeal," the firm says...