w_llewellyn said:
Just FYI guys, I can appreciate everything that is being said here, but strongly disagree. Nobody here is a patent attorney. The first thing we asked ours is "What if someone sells without making a claim". The answer: Patent claims are not the same as marketing claims. The company would have to prove someone would just walk into a store and buy an AA supplement. If people are buying their product to build muscle, they are inducing the violation of your patent, regardless of what is written on the bottle in an attempt to exculpate themselves."
AA is used for musclebuilding, not as a "general health supplement". Any bodybuilding product company, bulk or otherwise, that tries to sell AA and cheat us out of our fair licensing fees will find themselves in litigation.
Given that I have spent a personal fortune bringing this product to market, and endured 2 years of the rest of the industry telling me I was nuts for doing it, I am somewhat disheartened to hear all the discussion about ways to rip me off now that people are recognizing its utility.
Business is business, but AA is the only product we sell, and we are absolutley committed to protecting our IP rights! I hope everyone reading can understand this, and why.
Bill, I'm not a patent attorney, but I am an attorney, and one with a decent background in IP law, which includes a working knowledge of patent law.
I have no doubt that threat of litigation will keep competitors from introducing AA supplements, at least for the time being, because the cost of defending a lawsuit, even when successful, is prohibitive.
However, I would be remiss if I did not point out something that I mentioned to you at bb.com, which you ignored. It goes against exactly what you are saying here and at other places.
I will isolate one key part of your argument from above:
AA is used for musclebuilding, not as a "general health supplement". Any bodybuilding product company, bulk or otherwise, that tries to sell AA and cheat us out of our fair licensing fees will find themselves in litigation.
Fair enough. Until someone looks at your patent application, available
Invalid Link Removed, and the issued patent, available
here.
Both contain the following language:
United States Patent 6 said:
Arachidonic acid is a naturally occurring polyunsaturated fat, belonging to the Omega-6 family of fatty acids. It is considered an essential fatty acid (EFA), because it is an essential nutrient that your body can't produce itself. The only way you can get arachidonic acid is through the food you eat. It is obtained in small amounts in the average human diet, coming from various plant and animal sources including milk. Arachidonic acid has furthermore been identified as a vital precursor to numerous hormones in the body including prostaglandins, prostacyclin (PGI2), leukotrienes, and thromboxanes.
(Emphasis added).
The claims in your patent application and issued patent do not exactly agree with your claims here. You have a hard time arguing that there is no other use for AA when your own patent application calls it an essential nutrient and lists the compounds it converts to (and is, in fact, a "vital precursor" to).
Is this enough to sway a trial? I don't know. I'd be interested to find out. I probably won't, though, as noted above.
Do I feel that you should be rewarded for your work in developing this product? Yes, that is why we have intellectual property law. However, you got a method of use patent for this compound, for use in increasing muscle mass. That does not necessarily protect all uses of AA, and when you yourself list it as an essential nutrient, it is disingenuous to argue that there are no other uses.