The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

DSM-Firmenich has won its patent infringement case against Canada-based Mara Renewables Corporation and its UK subsidiary, Algal Omega-3.

The patent in question, U.S. Patent No. 10,392,578, protects DSM-Firmenich's innovations in providing nutritional lipids rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 derived from an algal source. The UK High Court of Justice ruled that Mara/AO3's unauthorised use of the technology during a period beginning 2017 infringed the patent, allowing the ingredients giant to maintain exclusive rights to certain microbial lipid compositions that have DHA triglyceride fractions of 40 wt. % and higher.

Francois Scheffler, executive vice president of global marketing and business development of DSM-Firmenich’s Health, Nutrition, and Care Business Unit, said: “This result confirms our contentions that Mara/AO3 has been unlawfully using DSM-Firmenich’s legitimate IP rights. We now intend to pursue a full recovery for the damages we have suffered on account of the infringement and remain even more committed to further defending and enforcing our IP rights in the UK and elsewhere."

The intellectual property at the heart of the litigation protects DSM-Firmenich's advances in biotechnology and downstream process engineering, which enable the development and production of high-purity algal DHA oils.

"Innovation thrives when intellectual property rights are respected," said James Young, vice president of early life nutrition at DSM-Firmenich. "By protecting our groundbreaking technology, we safeguard not just our own advances, but also the quality and integrity of our customers' products. We continue to accelerate investment in next-generation sustainable nutrition solutions that benefit people and planet alike, whilst defending our patented technologies.”