A federal judge in Wisconsin has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Finnish precision fermentation company Onego Bio against The EVERY Company, ruling that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the California-based defendant, AgFunderNews first reported. Parallel litigation in Delaware remains active.
Background to the dispute
The case originated in September 2025 and centers on a patent held by The EVERY Company covering ovalbumin production across a range of microbial hosts. Ovalbumin is the primary protein in egg white, and both companies produce it via precision fermentation without the use of chickens. The EVERY Company uses yeast as its production host; Onego Bio uses the fungus Trichoderma reesei, inherited from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, from which it spun out in 2022.
Onego Bio argued that EVERY’s patent was invalid and not applicable to its fungal production process, and that EVERY had interfered with its investor relationships by claiming a license was required. EVERY disputed this, stating that Onego had been the one to initiate contact seeking a license before filing suit. Merger talks between the two companies collapsed shortly before the lawsuit was filed. VTT separately challenged EVERY’s European patent at the European Patent Office.
Jurisdictional ruling leaves merits untouched
Judge James Peterson dismissed the Wisconsin case on the grounds that EVERY is not incorporated in the state and does not operate there, finding that website activity, lobbying, and indirect product sales were insufficient to establish jurisdiction. He declined to rule on the substance of the patent dispute, noting that the same claims are already being litigated in Delaware.
Onego Bio has been planning a commercial-scale production facility in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and has argued that EVERY’s IP claims have hampered its ability to raise investment.
EVERY CEO Arturo Elizondo welcomed the outcome, telling AgFunderNews: “Lawsuits are a waste of time and money. Our space doesn’t need expensive distractions. Our space needs builders. It needs all of our focus and resources to go towards building a better food system, not expensive litigation.”
