Update on October, 29th 2009 by Walter Reynolds from Wysong.
Thank you for your support!
The patent office has rejected all 17 claims of a food probiotic patent (patent #5,968,569) previously granted to Nestec (Nestle/Purina) on October 19, 1999. This will effectively revoke the patent.
Read more at Wysong’s website.
Ok… here follows my blogpost from the days before the good news hit Wysong.
Who has invented probiotic enriched dog food?
Well… that’s the question. Who was first to use this technology? Who was first in patenting it? In this case the answer differs which is why these companies are in battle.
Who was the first to produce probiotic enriched dog food?
Dr Wysong has enriched pet food, as well as human foods, with probiotics ever since the early 1980′s. There is a video on their website that shows several sources (documents and a video fragment) dating back to 1985 that show the use of probiotics in their dog food recipes. Here’s the video:
However, they did not seek a patent!
Who has the official patent?
Nestle/Purina has obtained a patent on October, 19th 1999 for the same technology. When you’re interested in the details of this patent, you can find it as US Patent 5968569 – Pet food product containing probiotics on the Patent Storm website. It’s expiration date is December 2017.
What’s happening 15 years later?
Nestle, the parent company of pet food manufacturer Purina, and Wysong Corporation, a small nutritional development company are clashing on a patent dispute.
Nestle/Purina demands that Wysong will pay them sales-based licensing fees going back six years and forward into the future, or pay for expensive patent litigation.
It’s a David vs. Golliath battle as Nestle is a multibillion dollar conglomerate and Wysong is many times smaller.
Many people are in favor of Wysong winning this case as it seems they have the best interest of our pets in mind. When the beneficial effects of probiotics became clear they enriched their recipe with this ingredient. It is said that to this date Purina has allegedly not incorporated probiotics in its own products.
Really? Isn’t that a bit strange? I wonder why they haven’t followed up on their description of the many health benefits it would have. I went to the Purina website and did a search for ‘probiotics’. They not only talk about the benefits (as in the patent description) but it is also present in Purina Veterinary Diets FortiFlora, a nutritional supplement that contains the probiotic Enterococcus faecium’FortiFlora’. So it’s not an enriched dog food but a nutritional supplement that can be sprinkled on top of any food.
Ok, so they do use it but not in dog food and only since 2006.
Another thing: Isn’t it strange that a patent was granted in 1999 for a technology that was already in the public domain?
Should Nestle/Purina win this case than all food companies that use probiotics in dog food will have to pay the fee which will significantly increase to cost to manufacturers, distributors and stores and hence.. costs will increase for those that want to buy probiotic-enriched pet food.
Why the fuzz? Are probiotics beneficial?
Probiotic micro-organisms are micro-organisms which beneficially affect a host, well in this case it could your dog, by improving its intestinal microbial balance (Fuller, R; 1989; J. Applied Bacteriology, 66: 365-378).
Your dog’s intestinal microbial balance consists of good and bad bacteria. The probiotics help to establish a balance in which the good outnumber the bad. This helps your dog fight micro organisms that can potentially make him (or her) ill. Probiotics can be used in the treatment and prevention of conditions caused by pathogenic bacteria. Also, probiotics are useful in the recovery after an antibiotic treatment since antibiotics can damage the intestinal microbial balance.
For more information about probiotics for dogs go to Best Dog Food Guide. On this website you can also read more about prebiotics for dogs. Probiotics are live micro-organisms and prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates. Both work in improving the intestinal health of your dog.
You can get them as as a supplement in dog food or in a more pure form such as ‘Total-Biotics‘. These can be sprinkled on top of any dog food and you can order them online without a vet’s prescription.
