Court Upholds Denial of Broccoli Sprout Patent – International Specialty Supply
Court Upholds Denial of Broccoli Sprout Patent CourtUpholds Denial of Broccoli Sprout Patent ThePacker Magazine, September 3, 2002 ByJim Offner (Sept. 3) BALTIMORE – A handful ofproducers of broccoli sprouts are looking forward to getting back to businesswithout the weight of court cases or patent claims after the U.S. District Courtof Appeals in Maryland ruled in their favor in a patent-infringement suitbrought by Baltimore-based Brassica Protection Products LLC and Johns HopkinsUniversity. In a 3-0 decision that reaffirmed its ruling of a year earlier, the court struckdown claims on three patents licensed to Brassica by Johns Hopkins forproduction of broccoli sprouts that contain concentrated amounts of acancer-preventing compound. The court also found that the five defendants – growers Banner Mountain ofSacramento, Calif.; Edrich Farms, Randallstown, Md.; Sunrise Farms, Neenah,Wis.; Harmony Farms, Auburn, Wash.; and Sungarden Sprouts/InternationalSpecialty Supplies, Cookeville, Tenn