As if Matrixx wasn’t having enough trouble with all of the lawsuits that allege Zicam causes loss of smell, they’ve been dealt a setback in a patent infringement lawsuit:
The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has ruled that Capricorn Pharma, Inc. can proceed with its suit against Matrixx Initiatives Inc. for allegedly infringing Capricorn's patent covering Zicam®, a cold medication. The patent-in-suit, U.S. Patent No. 6,375,982, covers rapid semi-solid compositions and methods of making such compositions. In its complaint, Capricon alleges that Matrixx infringed the '982 patent following the expiration of a manufacturing agreement between the two companies, under which Capricorn had used its proprietary technology to manufacture RapidMelt® disintegrating tablets that would be sold under the Zicam® brand by Matrixx. At the time, Matrixx had knowledge of the technology, and Capricorn has alleged that Matrixx was bound by non-disclosure terms in the agreement not to disclose this technology. However, after the agreement was executed, Matrixx, through Zicam® LLC, filed two provisional patent applications which, according to Capricorn, contained its proprietary and confidential information
