Cannabis patenting remains low amid legalisation: report
After Canada yesterday became the second country to legalise the sale of recreational cannabis (after Uruguay), a report has revealed a lack of patenting activity in the area so far.
Analytics firm PatSnap released its “ Cannabis compounds in edibles and beverages” report today, October 18.
The Canadian government first loosened its restrictions on the commercial exchange of medical cannabis in 2014, although medical marijuana had been legal in the country since 2001.
At least 111 legal cannabis shops were planning to open across the country on the first day of legalisation, according to an Associated Press survey referenced in The New York Times.
In the US, 22 states have legalised marijuana for medicinal use, with nine states and the District of Columbia having legalised cannabis for recreational use, too. The legal sale of US cannabis is expected to grow from almost $10 billion in 2018, to $23 billion in 2025.
Yet, despite the potentially large market for cannabinoid products, PatSnap said that the cannabis food and beverage industry is currently lacking in patent activity—though it has been increasing over the past five years.
PatSnap suggested that, globally, this may be due to food and beverage companies lacking the confidence to pursue patents amid legislative uncertainty, particularly about how cannabis patents might be protected by the US federal courts.
Paul Bremner, data analyst at PatSnap and author of the report, said: “The present low levels of patenting in the area of cannabis food and drink, and cannabis-infused edibles, could point to a looming patent war, with legalisation triggering a swarm of patent applications.”
The report said that, globally, 144 simple patent families relating to cannabinoid food and drink were filed in 2012, and 242 in 2015. In total, 3,357 simple patent families exist in relation to cannabis food and drink, and 103 in relation to cannabis-infused edibles.
China, South Korea, and the US are the countries which are filing the most cannabis patents, with the US filing rate surpassing China’s last year, PatSnap said.
PatSnap said it is surprising that large food and beverage companies, such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and General Mills are not included on the list, which is instead populated by a mixture of chemical companies and fragrance and flavouring companies.
Companies with the most patenting activity in this area are chemical companies BASF and DuPont, and fragrance and flavour company Firmenich.
The report noted that Coca-Cola is currently discussing the possibility of developing drinks infused with cannabidiol with a Canadian cannabis producer.
PatSnap’s report identified two main opportunity areas for those seeking to obtain cannabis patents.
First, in the area of specific cannabinoid and terpene formulations; and second, in industrial scale fermentation approaches to production that can deliver specific, quality-assured cannabinoid profiles for use in food and beverages.
In a blog post, PatSnap predicted that as cannabis is legalised in more regions, more companies are likely to move in and patent their inventions.
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