Syntroleum Says It Defends Renewable Fuels Intellectual Property Rights

Syntroleum Corporation

today announced on May 29, 2012, Syntroleum Corporation was sued for alleged patent infringement by Neste Oil Oyj regarding U.S. Patent No. 8,187,344. The '344 patent is related to and shares the same inventors as a prior Neste patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,279,018), and both are directed to a fuel composition for diesel engines. Following reexamination proceedings at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, all claims of the '018 patent were rejected. In particular, on March 22, 2012, the USPTO's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences affirmed the Examiner's rejection of the '018 patent's claims, finding that "the evidence of record as a whole supports the Examiner's conclusion that the fuel composition as claimed would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art..." The '344 patent similarly adds nothing new to the field of fuel compositions used for diesel engines. Syntroleum has not infringed any of Neste's alleged patent rights and Syntroleum intends vigorously to defend against the complaint's allegations, and is confident that its position will be vindicated.