Edison note

Edison put out a little note on YOW yesterday. Two points which I found interesting:

"Yowie’s decision to prematurely end its contract with Atlantic Candy could expose it to some risk of legal action on two fronts: patent infringement on the new capsule design and contract breach. We understand that the Board is confident of its legal position and that its legal advice formed a significant part of its decision. Yowie worked with patent counsel in developing the new capsule design, and its counsel believes the new design does not infringe on Whetstone’s patent. However, according to Confectionery News Hank Whetstone has successfully defended his patent as recently as 2013, making it possible that Whetstone will consider whether he can bring suit against Yowie."

"On the potential breach of contract issue, Yowie’s 2015 annual report lists a minimum payment of $1.37m due to Atlantic Candy covering patent exclusivity from December 2016-2019; however, further details of the contract have not been made public."


It's interesting in that if Hank decides that the new YOW capsule violates his patent-protected capsule design and this heads to court, there could be a risk of a court injunction preventing YOW from using their capsule while they fight it out with Hank?

Full link here: http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch...pr_newswire&utm_campaign=yowiegroup_26022016#