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23 April 2019Patents

Liquid cannabis formulations patent eligible, court rules

A landmark cannabis patent dispute is set to continue after a US court ruled that patent claims covering liquid cannabinoid formulations are not directed towards ineligible subject matter.

Last Wednesday, April 17, the US District Court for the District of Colorado dismissed Pure Hemp’s motion for summary judgment in a patent infringement case brought by United Cannabis Corporation (UCANN).

UCANN sued Pure Hemp Collective in 2017 for infringing its patent covering the company’s liquid cannabis formulations (US number 9,730,911), which are used in medical cannabis products.

Pure Hemp filed for summary judgment, claiming that the ‘911 patent was directed towards naturally occurring cannabinoid compounds.

Last week, the court accepted UCANN’s counter-argument that the liquid formulations covered in the patent are novel and not found in nature.

The patent covers specific concentrations of cannabinoids and other chemicals. “Pure Hemp nowhere claims that these precise concentrations, or anything close to them, occur in liquid form in nature”, the court said.

Rather the patent covers “non-naturally occurring delivery method of naturally occurring chemicals”, the judgment added.

The case is among the first patent infringement disputes covering medical cannabis products.

In an amended complaint filed earlier this month, UCANN claimed that Pure Hemp’s Vina Bell 5000mg cannabis product contained the formulations covered by the ‘911 patent.

UCANN claims that it informed Pure Hemp of its infringing activity and offered licensing negotiations in May 2018.

UCANN is seeking a permanent injunction against Pure Hemp preventing any infringement of the ‘911 patent, as well as an award of damages and attorneys’ fees.

WIPR has contacted UCANN and Pure Hemp for comment.

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