Judge Rules ZMC Have Not Infringed on Kaneka Patent

After an inspection held at the ZMC facilities March 3, 2012, the judge in the case dismissed the case brought by Kaneka against ZMC as unfounded and lacking of infringement. Kaneka Corporation is also found to be liable for all litigation costs accrued by both ZMC and KHE in the case based on a ruling handed down March 13, 2012 in Dusseldorf, Germany.

19 March 2012 --- A German judge provided a ruling dismissing a CoQ10 patent infringement case previously brought by Kaneka against Zhejiang Medicine Company and its European Distributor, Kyowa Hakko GmbH Europe (“KHE”). On November 11, 2010 Kaneka Corporation initiated legal proceedings in Germany against Zhejiang Medicine Company ("ZMC") and KHE alleging infringement of its patent relating to Coenzyme Q10.

After an inspection held at the ZMC facilities March 3, 2012, the judge in the case dismissed the case brought by Kaneka against ZMC as unfounded and lacking of infringement. Kaneka Corporation is also found to be liable for all litigation costs accrued by both ZMC and KHE in the case based on a ruling handed down March 13, 2012 in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Jiang Xiao Yue, CEO, ZMC, stated “while we are happy with the outcome of the judge’s decision in this case we are not surprised. ZMC has contended from the beginning of these lawsuits, the allegations presented are baseless and have been largely motivated by short term market manipulation rather than true legal content.” Mr. Jiang went on to say “ZMC is confident the outcome of the many similar lawsuits filed by Kaneka Corporation around the globe against ZMC will be found to be equally without foundation or merit.”

Oxidized coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) is also known by its trade name Kaneka Q10. Kaneka has been the recognized industry leader in coenzyme Q10 for the past 30 years, and is the largest manufacturer of coenzyme Q10 in the world. KNL is the first and only manufacturer of coenzyme Q10 in the United States.

Kaneka has a strict worldwide enforcement policy for the protection of its intellectual property rights. “Kaneka has been the leading developer of many innovative and cutting edge improvements in the production and quality of coenzyme Q10,” said Mr. Yoshimi Uchida, General Manager of QOL Division at Kaneka, speaking back in March when the lawsuit was first filed.

He added: “Kaneka will vigorously defend these rights and will not hesitate to initiate court proceedings to protect its intellectual property.” Mr. Uchida emphasized that “Kaneka’s goal is to protect the results of its research and development and to avoid the unauthorized use of its innovations.”