The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has sided with two previous rulings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), finding all claims of two patents from Aker Biomarine unpatentable.
The ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 3rd follows two inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board based on petitions filed by Norwegian biotechnology company Rimfrost, which produces krill oil.
‘We hope this will settle any confusion created by Aker Biomarine in the US market,’ said Rimfrost’s CEO and principal owner Stig Remøy.
‘No legal proceeding in the USA concerning its patents has gone in Aker Biomarine’s favour. That means the uncertainty which Aker Biomarine has sought to create around our products and ability to deliver is now repudiated.’
The appeals before the Court of Appeal is the eighth lawsuit in a row Aker has either lost or withdrawn against Rimfrost in Norway and the United States.
With its head office in the Norwegian fishing port of Fosnavåg, Rimfrost is one of the world’s largest producers of krill products. The USA represents one of its most important markets.
‘We’ve experienced massive sales growth for our krill products since 2017,’ Stig Remøy added.
‘Our quality is particularly high, and we can deliver even in a market with rapidly rising demand. It’s been very important for us to bring legal proceedings in the USA to an end, and we are satisfied to have won the cases.’
