Who owns the intellectual rights to Sprinkles?
SGHI controls the patent rights for sprinkles, or micronutrient powders in sachets, in North America (Canada and USA) and sales and production of sprinkles-like products in this region is not allowed without our direct permission. For the rest of the world, Sprinkles is not patented. In September 2007, at a meeting with organizations including GAIN, MI, UNICEF, USAID, and WFP, SGHI and its supporting partner Heinz made a formal announcement to put the technical specifications for the Sprinkles product in the public domain. The technical specifications include information on formulations, ingredients, and packaging materials. Thus, manufacturers, who are able to prove their commitment to quality control, can now approach SGHI or organizations, such as UNICEF, for these technical specifications. SGHI has trademarked the brands Sprinkles, Sprinkles Plus, SuppleFer, and SuppleFem and manufacturers cannot associate their micronutrient powders in sachets with our brands. Only in circumstance
SGHI controls the Canadian and American patent rights for the invention known and trade marked as Sprinkles. These patent rights effectively extend to any micro-nutrient formulations which include micro-encapsulated iron and which are contained in single-dosage sachets, or other forms of packages which enable the user to sprinkle the formulation onto prepared foods. Therefore, the manufacture, distribution and/or marketing of such products in Canada and the United States of America are not allowed without SGHIs express, written permission. Sprinkles is not patented in the rest of the world. In September 2007, SGHI and its sponsor, the Heinz Foundation, formally announced that they were putting the Technical Specifications for the Sprinkles products into the public domain outside of Canada and the United States of America. This announcement was made at a meeting attended by such organizations the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Micronutrient Initiative (MI), UNICEF, U
