Laval, Québec, CANADA –Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. and its subsidiary Acasti Pharma Inc. yesterday announced an agreement to resolve patent disputes with Enzymotec Ltd. and Enzymotec USA, Inc.
As part of a settlement, the krill oil supplier Neptune has granted a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-bearing license to Enzymotec, which is authorized to market and sell its nutraceutical products under Neptune’s ‘348 family of patents. Enzymotec also agreed to pay Neptune a non-refundable one-time upfront settlement payment. The financial terms of the license were not disclosed.
The pact resolves a number of disputes between the companies including the following: an investigation by the International Trade Commission (ITC) into whether Enzymotec infringed on Neptune’s intellectual property, related federal court actions filed by Neptune against Enzymotec and its distributors, and patent review proceedings that Enzymotec requested.
In recent months, Neptune has announced similar agreements to resolve disputes over its patents, which included an agreement with Aker BioMarine AS.
“This successfully brings to a conclusion all of the outstanding litigation issues before the ITC, with Neptune concluding favorable agreements with all ten Respondents named in the investigation," said Benoît Huart, Neptune’s director of legal affairs, in a statement commenting on the Enzymotec settlement. “Consequently, Neptune has now licensed some of its patents to all of the major players in the worldwide krill oil industry. In addition, these settlements preserve strong IP protection for both Neptune and Acasti, allowing them to defend their respective markets."