MADISON, Wis. (AFX) - Dietary supplements marketed as reducing body fat and increasing muscle tone infringe upon patents obtained by University of Wisconsin researchers, a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court alleges.
The supplements are sold in the United States by Health From the Sun, a subsidiary of France-based Arkopharma, according to the lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the research and patenting arm of UW.
The lawsuit alleges that Arkopharma infringed upon the patents related to the uses of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, for purposes of creating 'a sculpted, athletic looking body.'
Health From the Sun, based in Bedford, Mass., sells dietary supplements containing CLA under the names ThermoPower CLA with Oolong Tea and SunPower CLA, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims Health From the Sun did not purchase CLA from the company that has the exclusive license with the university's research arm. That company is Norway-based Natural Nutrition Ltd., which also joined in filing the lawsuit.
The licensing agreement covers a pair of patents issued to three UW-Madison researchers in 1996 and 1998 within the field of health food and food supplements, according to the lawsuit.
Filed in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis., the lawsuit claims Health From the Sun's sale of the products has harmed Natural Nutrition and caused the university to lose money. The university's research foundation is asking the court to force Health From the Sun to stop selling the products and to award unspecified damages.
Attempts to settle the matter with Arkopharma have been unsuccessful, necessitating filing the lawsuit, said Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of the university's research foundation.
A message left with a representative of Health From the Sun was not immediately returned Wednesday.
The company, on its Web site, says CLA is 'an important fatty acid that helps to naturally sculpt your body' and that each capsule of SunPower contains 700 milligrams of CLA.
Health From the Sun claims on its Web site that Arkopharma is Europe's largest pharmaceutical-grade manufacturer of nutritional supplements with 1,600 employees worldwide doing business in 70 countries.
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