Sami Labs subsidiary, Sabinsa Corporation in the US has successfully concluded its patent infringement lawsuit against the second of four companies it filed suit against in the US District Court, New Jersey on July 30, 2014. This is second successful settlement after the Prakruti Products Private Limited.
The lawsuit alleged HerbaKraft, Inc. was selling products that infringed upon Sabinsa’s Curcumin C3 Complex US patent 5,861,415 (the ’415 Patent), which protects compositions, methods of use, and methods of extraction of a nutritional supplement in the US.
HerbaKraft has agreed, in addition to any undisclosed monetary settlement, to discontinue any and all future sales of Curcumin to outside distribution. The proposed Final Consent Judgment stipulates that the ’415 Patent is valid, enforceable, and properly issued by the US patent and trademark office.
Last month Sabinsa announced it had reached a settlement with Prakruti Products Private Limited. In the United States, Sabinsa continues to litigate the willful infringement of the ’415 patent by NutriBioLink LLC, and Olive Lifesciences Private Limited. In Germany, Sabinsa continues to litigate a European Curcumin patent infringed by Olive Lifesciences.
"As we continue to make objection to infringement on our patents crystal clear, such settlements as this and the previous settlement with Pakruti should serve as a deterrent to others contemplating such IP theft,” said Dr Muhammed Majeed, founder and chairman, Sami/Sabinsa Group.
“Other companies may not sell imitations of Sabinsa’s unique compositions, nor market it for its antioxidant use, nor use the ethyl acetate extraction method developed by Sabinsa and outlined in Sabinsa’s patent,” he added.
"We have seen another infringer succumb when confronted with the reality of litigation. “Sabinsa has invested heavily in its intellectual property, and the courts will protect that investment when presented with a clear infringement claim,” said James H. Hulme, Partner, Arent Fox LLP, the attorney who represents Sabinsa in IP infringement matters.
The name C3 Complex was chosen to represent the ingredient’s three main chemical compounds: Curcumin, demethoxycurcumin & bisdemethoxycurcumin, collectively known as curcuminoids. Curcumin C3 Complex is a specific mixture of Curcuminoids, making it a unique form of Curcumin quite different from generic curcumin extracts. It has been used in more clinical studies than any other curcumin ingredient in the world.