Sabinsa Concludes BioPerine Suit

Sabinsa Concludes BioPerine Suit

PISCATAWAY, N.J.On June 16, afinal consent judgment was entered in U.S. District Court here concerning thepatent infringement suit filed by Sabinsa Corp. (www.sabinsa.com) againstNaturex Inc. in October 2001. The lawsuit concerned U.S. Patent No. 5,972,382for Sabinsas BioPerine piperine ingredient, as well as equivalentinternational patents, covering uses including enhanced nutrientbioavailability, increased lean body mass and digestion support.

The district court found the U.S. patent was valid andproperly issued to Sabinsa. Under terms of the judgment, Naturex agreed to ceaseselling piperine for specific uses covered by Sabinsas patents in any countrywhere Sabinsa holds such patents. Further, Sabinsa withdrew its allegations thatNaturex infringed the U.S. patent and Naturex withdrew its relatedcounterclaims.

We invest significant amounts of money each year intoresearch and development to develop products that can be safely and confidentlyused by the nutritional supplement industry, said Mark Sysler, seniorexecutive vice president of Sabinsa (www.sabinsa.com). Intellectual propertyis one avenue to bring this R&D to the marketplace.

Naturex (www.naturex.com) had no comment regarding the consentjudgment.