ITC Dismisses CoQ10 Patent Case Against ZMC

THE WOODLANDS, TexasThe litigation against Zhejiang Medicine Co., Ltd. (ZMC) over alleged infringement of a CoQ10 patent (U.S. No. 7,910,340) held by Kaneka appears over, as the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a termination after finding no violation by ZMC. The decision follows a recent ruling from ITC Judge Robert Rodgers that the Kaneka patent is valid, but ZMC did not infringe upon it.

Kaneka filed the ITC case against ZMC in June 2011, although the legal battle began earlier in March 2011, when Kaneka filed a patent infringement suit against ZMC and other companies in U.S. District Court in California. As a result of the initial lawsuit, ZMC countersued to challenge the validity of the Kaneka patent. In August 2011, Kaneka withdrew the district court suit in favor of pursuing the ITC complaint.

Rodgers issued his decision after a week-long trial in July 2012, fidning ZMC's process does not infringe upon Kaneka's patent; he said Kaneka failed to meet ITC domestic industry requirement because its process is not covered by the '340 patent.

Kaneka appealed the Rodgers ruling, but ITC rejected the appeal in late November and issued the notice of termination in the case.