Federal Judge Dismisses Marijuana Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Trulieve
- A federal judge dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit against marijuana company Trulieve, filed by Natural Extraction Systems LLC.
- The lawsuit accused Trulieve of infringing four patents related to cannabinoid modification and cannabis distillate production methods.
- Trulieve argued the complaint lacked sufficient factual allegations to prove patent infringement, and the judge agreed, granting the dismissal.
- Natural Extraction Systems has filed similar patent infringement lawsuits against other marijuana companies earlier this year.
A federal judge has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit accusing marijuana company Trulieve of improperly using patented technology to manufacture cannabis distillate.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles of the Southern District of Florida granted Trulieve’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit Monday. The case was filed in January by Colorado-based Natural Extraction Systems LLC against Trulieve Inc. and Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
Natural Extraction Systems accused Trulieve of infringing four patents involving methods for chemically modifying cannabinoids and producing cannabinoid products, including technology involving gas-phase decarboxylation.
The patents at issue are U.S. Patent Nos. 10,669,248, 11,643,402, 12,297,181 and 12,420,214.
The lawsuit alleged that Trulieve’s processes for manufacturing cannabis distillate, including its use of wiped-film distillation equipment, infringed the patents. Natural Extraction Systems alleged the processes involve heating cannabis extracts to convert cannabinoid acids such as THCA into cannabinoids such as THC, followed by condensation into a liquid distillate.
Trulieve moved to dismiss the complaint in April, arguing that Natural Extraction Systems had failed to plead sufficient facts to establish patent infringement.
Natural Extraction Systems opposed the motion, arguing that patent plaintiffs are not required at the pleading stage to prove their infringement claims and that its complaint contained enough factual allegations to proceed.
Gayles ultimately granted Trulieve’s request to dismiss the complaint on September 28.
Natural Extraction Systems filed several similar patent lawsuits earlier this year against other marijuana companies, including Green Thumb Industries and Stiiizy, alleging infringement of the same group of cannabinoid-processing patents.
The Trulieve case is Natural Extraction Systems LLC v. Trulieve Inc. et al., case number 1:26-cv-20186, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.