Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: patent

  • Heinz “Dip & Squeeze” Case Revived by Third Circuit

    The Third Circuit has reversed a Michigan district court’s dismissal in a case alleging that H.J. Heinz Co. stole the idea for the “Dip & Squeeze” ketchup packet from plaintiff David Wawrzynski, an inventor who had proposed the idea to the company in 2008. Wawrzynski v. H.J. Heinz Co., No. 13-4100 (3d Cir., order entered…

  • UC Davis Seeks Dismissal of California Strawberry Commission’s Breach of Contract Suit

    The University of California Davis, has reportedly filed a motion in California state court to dismiss the breach of contract suit that the California Strawberry Commission filed in October after it learned that the university may stop breeding and selling strawberry germplasm to farmers. UC Davis has developed and sold its strawberry germplasm at low…

  • ITC Rejects Patent-Packaging Infringement Claim Against Liquor and Wine Importers

    In the first investigation subject to a pilot program, the International Trade Commission (ITC) has agreed with an administrative law judge (ALJ) that a company alleging infringement of its patents for laminated packaging by the importers of liquor, wine, toys, electronics, and cosmetics failed to show that it had a domestic industry that would be…

  • Federal Circuit Rules Organic Farmers Lack Standing to Challenge Monsanto Patents

    The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court’s dismissal of the declaratory judgment action brought by a number of organizations representing the interests of organic farmers. Organic Seed Growers & Trade Ass’n v. Monsanto Co., No. 2012-1298 (Fed. Cir., decided June 10, 2013). The farmers sought a declaration of non-infringement and invalidity…

  • Kraft Sues Kellogg and Keebler Alleging Packaging Patent Infringement

    Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC has filed a complaint in an Illinois federal court against Kellogg and Keebler, claiming that the companies’ cookie packaging infringes resealable food container patents that Kraft owns. Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC v. Kellogg N. Am. Co., No. 13 321 (N.D. Ill., filed January 16, 2013). According to the complaint, the infringing…

  • Alleged Infringing Farmer Files SCOTUS Merits Brief on Patent Exhaustion

    Indiana farmer Vernon Bowman claims in his U.S. Supreme Court merits brief that the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that he infringed patents by planting second-generation genetically modified (GM) seeds, has “significantly curtailed the patent-exhaustion defense” by refusing to “hold Monsanto’s patent rights exhausted with respect to the seeds Bowman purchased from [a]…

  • German Court Refuses to Stop Sale of Rival Capsules Compatible with Nestlé Coffee Machines

    According to news sources, the Dusseldorf Regional Court has refused a request for preliminary injunction filed by Nestlé seeking to stop competitors from selling capsules that fit its Nespresso™ coffee makers in Germany. The court reportedly ruled that Nestlé’s patent for the machine does not extend to capsules sold at a lower price by two other…

  • Neither Wrigley nor Cadbury Infringed the Other’s Menthol Chewing Gum Patent

    The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided ruling, has determined that Wrigley’s 2000 patent for menthol chewing gum was invalid because prior patents made Wrigley’s claimed invention obvious; thus, the court determined that Cadbury did not infringe Wrigley’s patent when it reformulated its chewing gum to include the compound claimed in Wrigley’s patent.…