Scott White filed a patent infringement lawsuit vs Heinz in 2012. However, when the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) re-examined White’s patent in June 2013, it found that many of his claims were too obvious to be patentable, prompting White to appeal.
On Friday (Feb 19), the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the USPTO’s decision to cancel White’s patent, a decision immediately welcomed by Michael Mullen, SVP of Corporate & Government Affairs at The Kraft Heinz Company.
"We are pleased with the decision as we have always maintained this case was groundless and without merit," Mullen told FoodNavigator-USA.
A second inventor (David Wawrzynski, click HERE) making similar allegations vs Heinz lost his legal battle with the company last April after a jury concluded Heinz had not stolen his 'Little Dipper' idea.