Corbion NV v. WTI Inc. — Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice After 93 Days
Corbion NV, the Dutch food ingredient company, filed a patent infringement action against WTI Inc. in Georgia over its dried vinegar and antimicrobial preservation powder technology covered by US11696587B2. The case closed in just 93 days after Corbion filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice before the defendant had answered, leaving the door open for refiling.
Swift voluntary exit in a food preservation patent dispute
On 2 October 2023, Corbion NV — the Netherlands-based food ingredient company — filed a patent infringement complaint against WTI Inc. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. The action centred on US11696587B2, a patent relating to dried vinegar and antimicrobial powder technology, with specific products at issue including Corbion’s Verdad Powder N6, NatureIn DV, and Verdad Opti Powder N450 vinegar formulations. The case was represented on the plaintiff side by Christopher A. Cosper of Hull Barrett, PC.
The case closed on 3 January 2024 — just 93 days after filing — when Corbion filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i). The court confirmed that dismissal was procedurally proper because WTI Inc. had not yet served an answer or a motion for summary judgment. The court ordered each party to bear its own costs and fees, except as otherwise agreed, and formally closed the matter.
A 93-day resolution is notably swift for a patent infringement action and suggests the dispute may have been resolved through private negotiation or that Corbion elected to withdraw for strategic reasons — potentially to refile in a different venue or following a settlement in principle not reflected in the public record. Because dismissal was without prejudice, no findings of infringement, validity, or liability were made, and the public record does not reveal the underlying commercial drivers of the early exit.
Filing to resolution in 93 days
Resolved in 93 days — well under the median time-to-termination for district court patent cases
Voluntary dismissal without prejudice — what it means for both parties
Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) — dismissal as of right
Under FRCP 41(a)(1)(A)(i), a plaintiff may voluntarily dismiss a case without a court order simply by filing a notice of dismissal, provided the defendant has not yet served an answer or a motion for summary judgment. The court confirmed this standard was met here. This is the earliest and lowest-friction exit available to a plaintiff in US federal litigation — no judicial approval is required and no findings are made on the merits.
No court approval neededWithout prejudice — the distinction matters
A dismissal ‘without prejudice’ preserves the plaintiff’s right to refile the same claims in the future, subject to applicable statutes of limitations. A dismissal ‘with prejudice’ would permanently bar refiling. The court’s order here is explicitly without prejudice, meaning Corbion retains the option to reassert infringement claims based on US11696587B2 against WTI Inc. The public record does not disclose whether a settlement or licence agreement was reached privately.
Corbion may refileEach party bears its own costs
The court’s order specifies that the parties shall bear their own costs and fees ‘except as otherwise agreed.’ This carve-out — ‘except as otherwise agreed’ — is consistent with an undisclosed private settlement or licence arrangement that may include financial terms not visible in the public record. In the absence of a merits ruling, neither party can claim a fee award under 35 U.S.C. § 285, which requires an exceptional case finding.
Possible private termsWTI Inc. never answered the complaint
The case closed before WTI Inc. filed any responsive pleading. This means no invalidity defences, non-infringement positions, or counterclaims appear in the public record. The absence of any defendant-side legal representation or filing in the docket is notable — it may suggest WTI Inc. engaged in direct negotiations with Corbion rather than mounting a formal legal defence, or that the dispute resolved quickly enough to make a formal response unnecessary.
No merits adjudicatedFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Corbion NV | Company | Dutch food ingredient company — holder of US11696587B2 (dried vinegar technology)Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | Wti, Inc. | Company | WTI Inc. — defendant in food preservation patent infringement action, GeorgiaSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Christopher A. Cosper | Attorney | Counsel for Corbion NVSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge / | Chief Judge | Georgia Southern District Court — Chief JudgeSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Stipulation of dismissal — official text
The court’s order is narrow and procedural: it confirms only that the requirements of FRCP 41(a)(1)(A)(i) were satisfied and formally closes the case. No findings were made on infringement, validity, or damages. The ‘except as otherwise agreed’ cost carve-out is legally significant — it preserves the effect of any privately negotiated financial arrangement between the parties without disclosing its terms. For practitioners, this order neither strengthens nor weakens US11696587B2 as an enforcement asset.
US11696587B2 — Dried Vinegar Antimicrobial Food Preservation Technology
US11696587B2, filed under application number US16/275987, protects technology in the dried vinegar and antimicrobial food preservation powder space. The patent is asserted in connection with Corbion’s Verdad Powder N6, NatureIn DV, and Verdad Opti Powder N450 product lines — commercially positioned as clean-label antimicrobial solutions for processed food applications. The technology addresses a growing market demand for non-synthetic preservative systems that maintain shelf life and food safety while meeting clean-label consumer requirements.
For the food ingredient sector, this patent represents a strategically significant asset in the clean-label preservation category, which has seen accelerating commercial activity as food manufacturers reformulate away from synthetic preservatives. Corbion’s decision to assert this patent in litigation — even briefly — signals active enforcement intent. Competitors developing or marketing dried vinegar, fermentation-derived antimicrobials, or functionally equivalent powder preservation systems in the US market should treat US11696587B2 as a live risk asset and conduct claim-level analysis before product commercialisation.
Should your team run an FTO against US11696587B2?
Any R&D team or product manager working on dried vinegar formulations, clean-label antimicrobial powders, or fermentation-derived food preservation systems for the US market should treat US11696587B2 as a priority FTO target. The patent has been actively asserted, retains full validity presumption, and covers a product category — powder preservation systems — that spans a wide range of processed food applications including meat, poultry, bakery, and ready-to-eat formats.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can map the claims of US11696587B2 against your product specifications and flag design-around opportunities or prior art of interest. Claim monitoring alerts will notify your team if Corbion or related entities file continuation patents or assert the patent in new proceedings — giving you early warning before enforcement escalates to litigation affecting your commercial launch timeline.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on US11696587B2 to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar patent cases in food preservation and antimicrobial ingredient technology
PatSnap Eureka tracks related litigation across truck body equipment, vehicle accessories, and comparable infringement actions in the Georgia district system.
What this case signals for the food ingredient IP landscape
A rapid voluntary dismissal in a food preservation patent case rarely signals the end of a dispute — it often marks a transition to a private resolution.
Voluntary dismissal without prejudice is a negotiating instrument
Patent plaintiffs frequently use Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) dismissals as leverage — filing suit to initiate commercial negotiations, then withdrawing once terms are reached. The 93-day timeline and absence of any defendant filing here is consistent with that playbook. Companies in the food ingredient and antimicrobial preservation space should treat such dismissals as potential signals of private licensing activity rather than abandonment of enforcement.
US11696587B2 remains a live enforcement risk for competitors
Because the case was dismissed without prejudice and no invalidity or non-infringement findings were made, US11696587B2 retains its full presumption of validity. Any company developing or marketing dried vinegar, antimicrobial food preservation powders, or comparable clean-label preservation technologies should assess their exposure to this patent before launching or scaling products in the US market.
Corbion v Wti — key questions answered
Corbion NV filed a patent infringement action against WTI Inc. in the Southern District of Georgia on 2 October 2023, asserting US11696587B2 relating to dried vinegar food preservation technology. The case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice on 3 January 2024 after 93 days, before WTI Inc. filed any answer. Each party bears its own costs except as otherwise agreed.
Corbion asserted US11696587B2 (application number US16/275987), a patent covering dried vinegar and antimicrobial food preservation powder technology. The specific products at issue included Corbion’s Verdad Powder N6, NatureIn DV, and Verdad Opti Powder N450 vinegar formulations.
Dismissal without prejudice means the case was closed without any ruling on the merits — no finding of infringement, validity, or liability was made. Corbion retains the right to refile the same patent infringement claims against WTI Inc. in the future, subject to applicable statutes of limitations. US11696587B2 retains its full presumption of validity.
The public record does not disclose the reason for the early dismissal. The 93-day timeline and the absence of any defendant filing are consistent with a private commercial resolution — such as a licence agreement or settlement — reached before the case progressed to substantive litigation. The court’s cost order carve-out (‘except as otherwise agreed’) suggests private terms may have been reached.
Verdad Powder N6 is one of Corbion’s dried vinegar antimicrobial preservation products, part of a clean-label food safety ingredient line used in processed meats and other food applications. Along with NatureIn DV and Verdad Opti Powder N450, it was identified as a product involved in the patent infringement allegations under US11696587B2 in this action against WTI Inc.
PatSnap Eureka searches patents and litigation data to answer instantly.