Celanese Sues Chinese Sweetener Manufacturer Anhui Jinhe Industrial for Patent Infringement

Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global chemical and specialty materials company, today announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against a Chinese manufacturer of high-potency sweeteners, specifically Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K).

The complaint alleges that Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd. is infringing a Celanese patent by continuing to unlawfully manufacture, sell and use infringing Ace-K sweetener in China. The Celanese patent is directed to improved production processes for making its Sunett® Ace-K sweetener.

The patent alleged to be infringed is Chinese Patent CN 104411693B and the patent provides substantial technology advantages to Celanese and its customers for the production and quality of Sunett® Ace-K sweetener. With this patent, the technology advantages are recognized as exclusive to Celanese, thereby increasing the benefit to customers by ensuring the highest quality and reliability standards of its Sunett® portfolio.

“As the inventor and only Western producer of Sunett® Ace-K, Celanese has developed a series of best practices to deliver one of the industry’s highest quality artificial sweeteners, ensuring product purity, supply reliability and product accountability,” said Tom Kelly, Celanese Senior Vice President, Engineered Materials. “Celanese continuously invests in manufacturing and quality improvements and is dedicated to robust research, development and customer support for the sweetener products manufactured by our patented process. We will vigorously defend our patented technology against unlawful manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, or use of proprietary technologies in the United States, Europe, China and globally.”

Two hundred times sweeter than sugar, Sunett® Ace-K is a zero-calorie, dental-friendly, high-intensity sweetener manufactured in a single-purpose plant with unique and patented processing steps. It provides optimized applicability and consistent sweetness profiles for better taste and excellent blending characteristics. Demand for high quality Ace-K continues to grow as consumers look for alternatives to full-sugar products.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use the full breadth of Celanese's global chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees, shareholders and the corporation. As we partner with our customers to solve their most critical business needs, we strive to make a positive impact on our communities and the world through The Celanese Foundation. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2018 net sales of $7.2 billion. For more information about Celanese Corporation and its product offerings, visit www.celanese.com or our blog at www.celaneseblog.com.

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