Food and Beverage
About
Food and Beverage is part of our work in Chemicals, Industrials, and Materials, Consumer Goods and Services, and Hospitality, Gaming, and Leisure.
Nourishing the world through innovation
Food and drink play an important role in everyday life, both in its necessity for survival and the cultural significance placed on food and eating. It is no surprise that food and beverage companies invest substantial resources creating new products and unique ways to package and market them. Companies must protect these investments by obtaining and protecting the underlying intellectual property rights that result from their innovation. Finnegan works with both startup and established companies making advancements in manufacturing, formulation development, processing, and packaging.
Experience
Represented Corbion N.V. in litigations against WTI, Inc. involving dry vinegar products.
1:23-cv-00144, S.D. Ga., Judge Epps
1:23-cv-08624, S.D. Ga., Judge Broderick
Finnegan represented Emergy, Inc., d/b/a Meati Foods in a trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and correction of inventorship case against The Better Meat Company (BMC) and Augustus Pattillo involving alternative meat made from mycelium.
Emergy alleged that Augustus Pattillo stole its trade secrets on the cultivation and production of mycelium that he learned while working as a lab technician for Emergy’s founders, misused them in his work with BMC, breached his nondisclosure agreement with Emergy, and improperly filed patent applications on Emergy’s technology and assigned them to BMC.
BMC filed claims of tortious interference and unfair competition against Emergy, which Emergy succeeded in striking under California’s anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statute. After prevailing under the anti-SLAPP statute, Emergy was statutorily entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs for defending against BMC’s stricken claims of tortious interference and unfair competition
Early in the litigation, Emergy defeated BMC’s motion to dismiss Emergy’s trade secret misappropriation and breach of implied contract claims. Emergy later defeated BMC’s motion for summary judgment on Emergy’s trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and breach of implied contract claims. The case settled soon after the Court issued its summary judgment ruling.
2-21-cv-02338, E.D. Cal., Judge Mueller
2-21-cv-02417, E.D. Cal., Judge Mueller
19-1132, Fed. Cir., Judges Prost, Moore, Wallach
Opposition No. 92059437, TTAB, Judge McCormack
1:19-cv-03944, S.D. Ind., Judge Dinsmore
1:16-cv-00662, D. Del., Judges Fallon, Robinson, Bataillon, Noreika
Represented Nestlé USA in three appeals from inter partes review (IPR) decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In two cases, the Federal Circuit vacated the PTAB decisions upholding the patentability of the challenged claims and remanded the cases. In the third case, the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s finding that the challenged claims were unpatentable.
16-1750, Fed. Cir., Judges Hughes, Mayer, Reyna
17-1193, Fed. Cir., Judges Dyk, Hughes, Reyna
17-1290, Fed. Cir., Judges Dyk, Hughes, Reyna
