Cleary Gottlieb successfully obtained a dismissal for its client, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., in an action filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware by plaintiff The NutraSweet Company. NutraSweet sought a declaratory judgment that it did not violate a license agreement that allows NutraSweet to use certain of Ajinomoto’s patents and know-how for the manufacture and sale of the artificial sweetener aspartame.
Chief Judge Sue Robinson fully accepted Ajinomoto’s position that it had done nothing to create a reasonable apprehension that NutraSweet will face an infringement suit. In the absence of an actual controversy, the suit was dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.