A US court has invalidated two claims of Kaneka’s CoQ10 patent after finding they lacked utility and enablement, potentially opening the US market to Cocrystal’s CrysQnol ingredient.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York has ruled in favour of Cocrystal Technology (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd. in a long-running patent dispute with Kaneka Corporation, finding claims 5 and 15 of Kaneka’s US Patent No. 7,829,080 invalid for lack of utility and enablement.
The September 2, 2026 Memorandum and Order grants Cocrystal’s motion for summary judgment on the asserted patent claims.
The court did not reach the parties’ other arguments concerning invalidity or damages related to infringement.
CoQ11 at centre of dispute
Kaneka filed the patent infringement action in October 2023, alleging that Cocrystal’s Crystal QH ubiquinol ingredient infringed its ‘080 patent.
At the time, Kaneka sought an injunction and monetary damages and said it would also consider enforcement action against customers purchasing the product for use, sale or resale in the US.
The patent concerns methods for producing stabilised reduced coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol), with the disputed claims covering compositions containing reduced coenzyme Q11 (CoQ11).
The court found that Kaneka had tested reduced CoQ9 for its stabilising effect on ubiquinol but had not conducted equivalent testing of CoQ11 before filing the patent application.
It concluded that Kaneka had failed to establish utility for ubiquinol containing CoQ11 and that the claims therefore also failed the enablement requirement.
The court noted that the claims covered ubiquinol compositions containing any amount of reduced CoQ11, while the patent provided only one example involving a specific quantity.
It also found that allowing practitioners to determine through testing whether the claimed compositions actually worked would amount to undue experimentation.
Importantly, the ruling does not find that Kaneka acted fraudulently in obtaining the patent. The court separately rejected Cocrystal’s Walker Process claim alleging deceptive conduct in patent prosecution.
Implications for ubiquinol suppliers
Cocrystal said that the judgment would remove uncertainty for US customers, formulators, contract manufacturers and distributors considering its ubiquinol ingredient.
The company is simultaneously rebranding Crystal QH as CrysQnol, saying the transition will not alter formulation or specifications.
For the wider nutraceutical industry, the decision could increase competitive options in the US ubiquinol ingredient market.
Cocrystal has said that it is now able to continue manufacturing, marketing and selling CrysQnol in the US without restriction under the invalidated claims.
Kaneka had previously positioned its ‘080 patent as an important element of its reduced CoQ10 intellectual property portfolio and has successfully pursued other US infringement cases involving the patent.
Kaneka was contacted for comment on the ruling.
