Mr. John Ripplinger reports

US PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD UPHOLDS ORIGINAL DECISION IN NEPTUNE'S FAVOUR

Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. has received a ruling from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) denying Aker and Enzymotec's request for a rehearing of certain claims in Neptune's '351 patent (U.S. patent 8,278,351).

Based on their review of Aker and Enzymotec's petition, the PTAB highlighted that the petitioner has not shown that the PTAB misapprehended or overlooked any matter, thus reconfirming the validity of the specific Neptune claims.

Background

Under separate royalty agreements with Aker and Enzymotec, royalty payments to Neptune in the U.S. depended on the PTAB's review of certain claims in Neptune's '351 patent. On March 23, 2015, the PTAB issued a favourable decision, confirming the validity of certain claims. This in turn activated continuing royalty payments to Neptune by Aker and Enzymotec. On April 23, 2015, Aker and Enzymotec filed a request with the PTAB for a rehearing of the claims that were shown to be patentable. On July 8, 2015, the PTAB upheld its original decision and denied their request for a rehearing.

We seek Safe Harbor.