Xango Patent Invalid in US. Patent Office Final Action

Scottsdale, Arizona — August 4, 2004

The US Patent Office issued its final written opinion rejecting all 81 claims in XanGo's Patent No 6,730,333. This action was taken despite multiple meetings with XanGo's in-house patent expert Steven Bean, its outside patent law firm and the review of over 30 pages of memoranda and supporting affidavits filed by XanGo™ LLC, a Lehi, Utah company. Specifically, a panel of three expert US Patent Officers, consisting of the primary examiner, a supervisor patent examiner and a special program examiner, found that every one of XanGo's 81 claims were unpatentable. The Patent Office's rationale was concise — basically that there is nothing novel or patentable in adding several fruit juices together. The Patent Office also rejected XanGo's claim that they were the first to introduce mangosteen juice into the market, specifically concluding: "Thus, the rejection [of the entire patent] is proper. THIS ACTION IS FINAL." You may review the entirety of the rulings by going to the official government Patent Application Information Retrieval System at http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair. After this site comes up, enter Application No. 90/007,178 and click on the Image File Wrapper tab, which will reveal an index of the document history. Afterwards, click on Reexam - Final Rejection dated 4-21-2005.

In May 2004, XanGo sued New Vision® and subsequently its subsidiary, Vemma™, both Scottsdale, Arizona companies, for patent infringement. The Patent Office's final action ruling dealt a serious blow to XanGo's infringement lawsuit. BK Boreyko, President and CEO of New Vision and Vemma stated, "You don't have to be a lawyer to understand that if they don't have a patent, then they don't have a lawsuit for infringement. From the beginning of this lawsuit, I have maintained two points. First, that XanGo's patent would be invalidated because you can't patent fruit juices. Second, even assuming their patent was enforceable, New Vision's and Vemma's mangosteen juice product does not infringe on their patent. It has always been my opinion that this lawsuit is not about patent infringement. Rather, XanGo is frustrated and embarrassed that New Vision and Vemma have produced superior mangosteen juice products into the marketplace. The independent test results don't lie. Our product contains a full spectrum of natural xanthones derived from mangosteen and pericarp extract. In fact, it takes 14 bottles of XanGo to equal the xanthone content of one bottle of our product. It really is that simple. XanGo should never have put so much emphasis on their patent or the fact that they will be the only company selling mangosteen juice. Their credibility will be severely questioned. The bottom line is that New Vision and Vemma will always sell a mangosteen juice product and my Research and Development team will always make sure it's the best."

By contrast, the lawsuit filed by Morinda (now Tahitian Noni®) against XanGo and a number of its top officers who were formerly Morinda employees, is moving forward. Contrary to the false rumors being circulated by XanGo that this case has no merit, the law firm currently representing Morinda in the XanGo litigation, Ray Quinney & Nebeker, is one of the most reputable law firms in the State of Utah and has been compiling evidence for over 12 months. Its lawyers have been featured in Utah Business Magazine's "Utah's Legal Elite" and included in the publication of "The Best Lawyers in America 2005-2006." In the lawsuit filed by Morinda, it alleges XanGo and its top officers stole Morinda's property interest in mangosteen while they were employed by Morinda. The company claims that all intellectual property rights in the XanGo juice product(s), and all intellectual property rights stemming therefrom, are the exclusive property of Morinda. Morinda therefore seeks a constructive trust be imposed upon all assets, corporate opportunities, benefits and profits unlawfully obtained by XanGo. The result, if Morinda prevails, is that all XanGo assets will be transferred to Morinda. Multiple depositions are currently under way of XanGo's alleged "partner," Wild Flavor, which will shed light on whether Morinda can prove its past officers/employees were working on XanGo business while still employees of Morinda. Since public records show that the trademark of XanGo was applied for approximately five months before these officers were terminated from Morinda, this should be an interesting case to follow over the next 12 to 16 months. Wild Flavors has already confirmed it is not "partners" with XanGo, as XanGo has repeatedly represented.

"We are pleased that with the recent US Patent Office ruling, we can all return our focus to the important issues for free competition in the market place, such as who has the better quality product, greater credibility and more stable future. New Vision has a ten-year history of success, honesty and top quality products backed by independent testing results. You can judge XanGo's credibility for yourself based on the developments during its brief history and pending litigation," said BK Boreyko.