Impossible v. Motif: Patent Dispute over Plant-Based Meat
On November 14th, a federal judge for the District of Delaware ruled that Impossible Foods Inc. can continue its patent infringement action against Motif Foodworks, Inc. by denying Motif’s motion to dismiss.[1] The two plant-based meat companies have been embroiled in a lawsuit ever since Impossible filed suit against Motif in March alleging the patent infringement.[2] The outcome of the case is bound to have a significant impact on the alternative meat industry.
Plant-based alternatives to meat have exploded in popularity over the last few years.[3] The meat substitute market is now worth over $20 billion[4] and companies are spending millions to create innovative products that truly taste like meat but are derived from plant-based products.[5] The influx of new products into the market has also led to disputes over patented molecules and production processes.[6]
The current suit revolves around Impossible’s plant-based protein called soy lehemoglobin or “LGH.”[7] After being founded in 2011, Impossible used a team of scientists to research what makes meat taste and cook like it does.[8] The scientists discovered that the molecule heme, which is used to transport oxygen, is a key component to the natural flavor of meat.[9] Impossible used LGH, which contains this heme molecule, in their products to enhance their meat like qualities.[10] LGH is found in the roots of soy plants and is therefore derived solely from plant products.[11] Because extracting LGH from soy bean plants was not commercially feasible, Impossible developed a proprietary strain of genetically modified yeast that can produce LGH. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued several patents to Impossible for both the manufacturing and the composition of its heme-containing products.[12]
Motif developed imitation meat products that also make use of the heme protein but the heme is derived through a slightly different process.[13] Motif was created in early 2019 as a competitor company attempting to produce foods that closely resemble and taste like meat but are derived from plant-based products.[14] Like Impossible, Motif uses the heme molecule to achieve this and developed a liquid flavoring ingredient called HEMAMI, which contains heme and is added to their products.[15] The heme in HEMAMI is found in a molecule called myoglobin which Motif generates using a different strain of yeast than Impossible.[16] Motif took the myoglobin gene found in cattle cells and genetically modified yeast cells to express that same gene.[17] So, while HEMAMI is not sourced directly from animals, it contains a protein that is found in cattle.[18]
Motif based its failed motion to dismiss on its use of a heme-containing protein that naturally occurs in cows, and thus does not violate Impossible’s patents.[19] Impossible’s patents cover products that are “free of animal heme-containing protein,” “contain no animal products,” or “a non-animal heme-containing protein.”[20] Motif argued that bovine myoglobin is excluded from the scope of Impossible’s patents while Impossible argued that because HEMAMI is not derived from an animal source it falls within the scope.[21]
The judge’s decision on the motion came down to the interpretation of the language in Impossible’s patents.[22] One way to interpret “non-animal heme-containing protein” is that it covers only proteins that are not naturally found in animals.[23] Another way to interpret the same phrase is that it covers any protein that is not derived from an animal, even if that protein is chemically identical to naturally occurring proteins in animals.[24] The phrase of “contains no animal products” could also be interpreted as the same two possibilities.[25] The judge declined to conduct an analysis of the differing interpretations at that stage in the proceedings and held in his opinion that Impossible has plausibly alleged that HEMAMI’s bovine myoglobin “was not derived from an animal source.”[26]
A final resolution to Impossible’s lawsuit stands to significantly impact the burgeoning imitation meat industry which has become much more competitive in the last few years. If Impossible eventually wins a judgement against Motif, competitor companies could face new restrictions over how they use and manufacture heme-containing proteins.
Footnotes
