Tawnsaura Sues Direct Digital over Nutritional Supplement

Plaintiff: Tawnsaura Group

Defendant: Direct Digital

Case Number: 8:13-cv-00004

Date Filed: January 02, 2013

Court: California Central District Court

Patents-in-Suit: US5874471 and US6028107

Patent Number Current Assignee[*]	Issued Date	Expiration Date[†]	Title
US5874471 Tawnsaura Group	Feb 23, 1999	Feb 27, 2017	Orthomolecular medical use of L-citrulline for vasoprotection, relaxative smooth muscle tone and cell protection
US6028107 Tawnsaura Group	Feb 22, 2000	Feb 27, 2017	Orthomolecular medical use of L-citrulline for vasoprotection, relaxative smooth muscle tone and cell protection

Table information sourced from Maxval’s Assignment Database. 

The ‘471 patent describes a method of improving human health to increase the plasma level of arginine which is up to three times an average overnight fasting level, comprising orally administering a substance selected from the group consisting of L-citrulline and the calcium salt of L-citrulline.

The ‘107 patent describes a method of improving human health to increase the plasma concentration of arginine comprising orally administering L-citrulline as precursor substance.

About the Parties:

Tawnsaura Group is a limited liability company.

Direct Digital is a direct response company based in Boston, MA and Charlotte, NC. Direct Digital owns wellness and nutritional supplements on the market. These brands include Nugenix®, Lumiday®, Luminite® and Instaflex®.

As in Complaint:

Defendant advertises that Nugenix products contain ingredients “L-Citrulline" and/or "L-Citrulline Malate” and "not only boosts testosterone levels via natural ingredients, but also helps increase, enhance muscle mass and improve overall body strength. Plaintiff alleges that defendant infringes the '471 and '107 patents by marketing the Nugenix products.

Other Cases Filed:

Plaintiff has recently filed cases against the following companies:

Defendant	Case Number	Date Filed	Status
Vital Pharmaceuticals	8:12-cv-02065	11/29/2012	Pending
Woodbolt Distribution	8:12-cv-02064	11/29/2012	Pending
Bio-Engineered Supplements and Nutrition	8:12-cv-01998	11/15/2012	Pending
BodyBuilding.com	8:12-cv-02000	11/15/2012	Pending
USP Labs	8:12-cv-02003	11/15/2012	Pending
Optimum Nutrition	8:12-cv-02002	11/15/2012	Pending
Cytosport	8:12-cv-02004	11/15/2012	Pending

If you are interested in knowing more about the cases filed by Tawnsaura, please contact us.

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[*] MaxVal offers Patent Assignment Alert service where subscribers receive email alerts when assignments relating to target applications, patents or entities of interest are recorded.

[†] Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.

Points of Light Filed Suit against CleggPromo over a Design Patent

Plaintiff: Points of Light Inc.

Defendant: Clegg Industries dba CleggPromo

Case Number: 2:12-cv-07908

Date Filed: December 28, 2012

Court: New Jersey District Court

Patent-in-Suit: USD585490

The USD585490 is currently assigned[*] to Points of Light (source: Maxval’s Assignment Database). The patent entitled Writing instrument with display surfaces was issued on January 27, 2009 ad expires[†] by January 27, 2023. The patent describes the ornamental design for a writing instrument with display surfaces.

About the Parties:

Points of Light is a supplier of promotional products like goofy group items, healthcare promotional products, flashlight, talking stress relievers, etc. It sells its products exclusively through promotional products distributors. Clegg Promo is engaged in the business of marketing and distributing advertising specialties and promotional products.

As in Complaint:

Plaintiff designed the writing instrument sold under the trade name “Cube Pen” on their website POLPromo.com. Plaintiff alleges that defendant also manufactures and markets (including on their website CleggOnline.com) Cube Pen (product no. 331055) that infringes the above patent by having a substantially similar shape and design (see Fig. 1) as described in the ‘490 patent.  

Other Cases Filed:

Plaintiff has filed case against Bel Inc., (2:10-cv-04437) on August 30, 2010 which is still pending. 

If you are interested in knowing more about the case filed by Points of Light, please contact us.

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[*] MaxVal offers Patent Assignment Alert service where subscribers receive email alerts when assignments relating to target applications, patents or entities of interest are recorded.

[†] Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.