Kemins Lutein Patent Reissued

DES MOINES, Iowa—Kemin Health announced it received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its existing claims and two new claims on U.S. Patent No. 5,382,714. According to the company, the notice was released in response to two recent decisions from the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences related to the ‘714 patent, which was originally granted in 1995. The reissue application covers the existing 20 claims, and adds claims covering a composition and method of delivering a certain lutein composition with at least 90 percent lutein with less than 10 percent non-lutein carotenoids extracted and purified from plant extracts, with no toxic chemicals.

“The patent reissue significantly strengthens our intellectual property and will help further to protect the FloraGLO® market and the business of our FloraGLO customers,” said Rodney Ausich, president of Kemin Health. In a statement, the company noted the reissue presumptively gives its sole sublicense of FloraGLO lutein, DSM Nutritional Products Inc., an exclusive basis in the United States to market purified lutein extracted from marigolds, at the cited concentration, that does not contain toxic chemicals above levels that would make it unsuitable for human consumption.