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A lawsuit filed by a tiny Orinda company against a larger rival may signal a major shift in the $20 billion nutritional supplement industry.
In its patent infringement suit filed Nov. 12 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, 2-year-old Juvenon Inc. accuses Florida-based Vitacost of selling knockoffs of Juvenon's Energy Formula. Juvenon said its supplement, which is marketed to sustain energy and rejuvenate cells, was developed based on patented scientific research it licensed from UC-Berkeley.
Juvenon said one of Vitacost's products, NSI Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl-L Carnaline, is based on the same formulation and ingredient found in Juvenon's only product. Juvenon has hired prominent patent litigator Gerald Dodson, a partner at San Francisco's Morrison & Foerster LLP, to pursue its claim for treble damages and legal fees from Vitacost.
"Copycat activity abounds in this industry and very few respect other people's patents," said Juvenon CEO Allan Prager. "We want others to know that we are pretty serious about defending our patents and that we mean business."
Vitacost is fighting the lawsuit, according to its CEO, Wayne Gorosek.
"This stuff is in the biochemistry text-book," Gorosek said. "There is nothing novel about Juvenon's product and many companies have been selling...