EXETER, Calif. — Leading Sucralose manufacturer Guangdong Food Industry Institute/L&P Food Ingredient Co. Ltd. (GDFII/L&P) today announced that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington D.C. ruled in its favor in a Section 337 patent dispute (docket no. 337-TA-604) filed against the company by its competitor, Tate & Lyle Corporation (T&L). Mr. Wang Sanyong, a corporate officer of GDFII/L&P, comments “This has been a long process but we are very pleased with the outcome and that we have been vindicated after a thorough review by the Commission. The final determination by the ITC continues to reaffirm to our dedicated customers the strength and innovation of our technology and processes, and the integrity of our company. We are pleased that our technological achievements have been recognized in these proceedings before the ITC.”
The U.S. ITC governs investigations into allegations of unfair trade practices and has ruled in its final determination that GDFII/L&P has not violated any of the patents asserted in this Section 337 dispute.
This final ruling confirms the initial determination issued by Administrative Law Judge Charles E. Bullock of the ITC in September 2008 that there is no violation of Section 337 by GDFII/L&P. Judge Bullock found that GDFII/L&P did not infringe any of the asserted T&L patents and that one of the patents was also invalid. T&L appealed that initial ruling and the ITC approved a full review by the Commission.
Roger Matkin, CEO/President of Ingredients Specialties, Inc. (ISI), a strategic marketing and distribution partner to GDFII/L&P, notes “We congratulate GDFII/L&P for this hard fought victory and recognize our attorneys with the Bingham McCutchen firm, led by Washington, D.C. partner Gary Hnath, who have represented GDFII/L&P so skillfully and diligently throughout the proceedings before the ITC. Gary and his team presented the facts to the ITC as fully and completely as possible.” Roger continues, “After 2 years of a careful and thorough review by the ITC, the Commission has now presented its definitive finding on behalf of GDFII/L&P.”
“This is welcome news for us, especially since many potential customers have held back in ordering product until confirmation of the positive ruling by the ITC,” observed Mr. Bassam Faress, Director of Sales & Marketing at ISI and spokesperson for L&P. “We can confidently assure our network of global distributors and customers that GDFII/L&P is one of a few companies whose manufacturing processes have been fully and thoroughly reviewed by the U.S. ITC and that our Zueit(R) brand Sucralose has been determined to be non-infringing. This is very important to keep in mind as it may not be the case with other competitors now in the market”
Mr. Wang Ximin, a corporate officer of GDFII/L&P adds “With this important victory now achieved, we are determined to aggressively expand our production of Sucralose and to position GDFII/L&P to more fully meet the anticipated high market demand for Sucralose globally.”
Guangdong Food Industry Institute/L&P Food Ingredient Co. Ltd. (GDFII/L&P) is a specialty ingredients manufacturer that pioneered the development and manufacturing of Sucralose at its ISO 9001:2000 and HACCP certified facility in China. Its alliance with Ingredient Specialties, Inc. of Exeter, California provides a global distribution network that markets Zueit(R) brand Sucralose (www.Zueit.com) to the food, beverage, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries as a Kosher and Halal certified non-caloric high intensity sweetener.
