Kemin Files Suit Against PIVEG

Kemin Files Suit Against PIVEG

DES MOINES, Iowa--Kemin Foods LLC (www.keminfoods.com)announced it filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court here against PigmentosVegetales de Centro (PIVEG), headquartered in Celaya, Mexico, for patentinfringement. Both patents (No. 5,382,714 and No. 5,648,564) cover purificationand isolation of lutein and xanthophyll crystals from plants. The lawsuit seeksan injunction against "continued infringement" of two U.S. patents formanufacture of purified, crystallized lutein plus an award of damages andattorney fees.

PIVEG's Web site (www.carotenoid.com)noted it is a supplier of carotenoid concentrates that are "100% natural,purified marigold concentrates." A representative in the company's U.S.office in Montgomery, Texas, said he had no knowledge of a patent infringementlawsuit being filed.