Solae Sues ADM, Amerifit for Patent Infringement 36812Solae Sues ADM, Amerifit for Patent Infringement

Solae Sues ADM, Amerifit for Patent Infringement

ST. LOUIS

The Solae Co. filed suit June 3 in U.S. District Courtfor the Eastern District of Missouri against Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) and Amerifit Nutrition. The lawsuit alleges ADMs Novasoy isoflavoneproducts and the Estroven dietary supplements made by Amerifit directly infringeon U.S. patents held by Solae.

The Solae Co. has spent many years investing in soy isoflavoneconcentrates and will aggressively defend its associated intellectual propertyportfolio when it is threatened, said Stephan Tanda, chief executive officerof Solae (www.solae.com). Our soyisoflavone patents are an extremely valuable corporate asset, and this suitreflects our determination to protect that value.

Solae (formed in a merger of Bunge and DuPont Protein Technologies) holds anumber of patents in this area and is the assignee for several patents fromNovogen Research in Australia. The patents at issue are No. 6,562,380 (issued onMay 13, 2003), which relates to dietary supplements with isoflavones designed totreat PMS or menopause symptoms, and No. 5,990,291, covering methods ofproducing soy isoflavones. The court action alleges Amerifit and ADM have eachinfringed at least one claim on both patents, and have induced others toinfringe the patents as well. Solae seeks a permanent injunction on ADM andAmerifit from infringing the patents, and extensive damages and attorneys fees.

An Amerifit spokesperson had no comment regarding the pending litigation,while calls to ADM had not been returned at press time.