A US bankruptcy judge this week issued an order in the ongoing legal dispute between Correlogic Systems and Ahn-Gook Pharmaceutical requiring that Correlogic provide AGP a list of its intellectual property in Asia, access to its Korean patent attorneys, and access to information regarding the company's patents and filings in Asia.
The order – which the court said was not to be construed as an indication of the strength or weakness of either party's position regarding the dispute – was issued in response to a motion for a restraining order and preliminary injunction that AGP filed on Nov. 11, which claimed that unless Correlogic submitted written opinions and paid registration fees to patent offices in Korea, China, and Japan, certain of the company's intellectual property rights in those countries would expire (PM 11/19/2010).
AGP's concern with Correlogic's intellectual property rights in those countries stems from a suit it filed with the restraining order alleging that Correlogic had defaulted on a loan agreement between the two companies by making material misrepresentations regarding OvaCheck, its protein biomarker-based ovarian cancer diagnostic. According to AGP's suit, the terms of the loan agreement call for Correlogic to grant AGP an exclusive license to "unconditionally use Correlogic's intellectual property, and any and all applications thereof, in Asia, including but not limited to Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Indonesia," in the event of default.
In its complaint, AGP accused Correlogic of making misrepresentations regarding: Its ownership of all the technology and rights necessary to develop OvaCheck; the accuracy of the OvaCheck test; the test's status with the US Food and Drug Administration; and Correlogic's agreements with Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corporation of America to market and distribute the test.
Upon the suit's filing, Correlogic CEO Peter Levine told ProteoMonitor that AGP's charges were "without foundation, baseless, and contrary to what AGP knows to be the truth," and suggested that Correlogic might file a countersuit.
On Nov. 21, the company filed an opposition to AGP's motion, asserting that it had, in fact, filed all necessary documents with the Korean patent office and intended to file all further documents needed to retain its Asian patent rights – a fact of which, Correlogic claimed, AGP had been made aware.
Correlogic also said in its opposition that AGP's claim that it misrepresented the status of OvaCheck "is absolutely false and contradicted by the evidence" and that it believed AGP's suit was "designed solely to chill the sale of the Debtor's assets and dilute the value of its business." Additionally, it said it intended to file a motion to reject any license to its intellectual property that AGP claimed to have.
In the order issued this week, the court instructed Correlogic to meet any requirements needed to ensure its Asian patents don't expire and to provide AGP with a list of all its intellectual property in Asia, access to its Korean patent attorneys, and information on the status of any of its Asian patents. It also instructed Correlogic not to sell any of its assets without prior authorization.
Also this week, the court set the trial date for the suit for Feb. 16, 2011.