Dog Treat Patent

Kansas City, MO: (Jan-02-08) MGP Ingredients Inc. brought charges against M&Ms maker Mars Inc., alleging that the company stole trade secrets and interfered in a third-party business relationship. Sources claimed that Atchison-based MGP filed a lawsuit in July 2006, accusing Mars of infringing on a patent it owned to make dog treats. It further alleged that Mars had infringed on a contract it had with North Kansas City-based S&M NuTec LLC, which developed Greenies and which was acquired by Mars in April 2006. The dispute stemmed from the fact that MGP entered into a long-term agreement in October 2005 to supply S&M with all its needs for the Greenies formula.

As part of that agreement, MGP said it would not sell the formula to anyone else unless sales from S&M fell below a certain level. The two parties had also signed a confidentiality agreement pertaining to the ingredients and formula to make Greenies. Sources stated that after S&M was acquired by Mars, it improperly allowed Mars access to information that was confidential between S&M and MGP. Mars claimed that it had developed its own Greenies formula, which was different from MGP's, a claim MGP said was false. As part of a settlement reached, Mars Inc. agreed to pay $8 million to resolve litigation. [KANSAS CITY STAR: DOG TREAT PATENT]

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Published on Jan-3-08