would-be competitor lacks Lanham Act standing

Onego Bio Inc. v. Clara Foods Co., 2026 WL 3033777, No. 1:25-cv-01131-JDW (D. Del. Oct. 9, 2026)

Onega Bio sought a declaratory judgment that defendant EVERY’s patent covering recombinant ovalbumin protein was invalid and unenforceable and that Onego didn’t not infringe the patent, but there was no imminent, substantial controversy between the parties. I’ll focus on the also-failed Lanham Act false advertising claim.  

Onego, according to the complaint, “specializ[es] in the production of animal-free egg proteins through precision fermentation” and “aims to revolutionize the food industry by offering sustainable and ethical alternatives to traditional egg products.”

“In 2024, Onego secured funding to scale-up production and expand its market presence in North America.” It plans to build a 130,000-square-foot facility in Wisconsin to produce its protein product. “As part of Onego’s expansion efforts in the United States, Onego has shipped its protein products here.”

EVERY competes in the market for animal-free egg proteins (using yeast instead of Onego’s fungi). EVERY allegedly made false representations about its own product by claiming in press releases and presentations that the egg protein it makes is “equivalent,” “bio-identical,” and “nature-equivalent” to what is found in natural eggs, while allegedly EVERY’s egg protein in fact contains up to 13 amino acids not found in natural egg protein, including amino acids from yeast proteins.

The court held that Onego lacked statutory standing; it didn’t plead injury to commercial sales in more than conclusory fashion. The complaint didn’t allege that Onego makes or sells its products in the United States. Shipping protein products into the US wasn’t enough, given that Onego hadn’t even broken ground on its planned production facility.  “At most, Onego’s allegations suggest that it hopes to enter the U.S. market and become EVERY’s competitor. Thus, there is no basis for me to presume that Onego suffered a commercial injury.”

Nor did reputational harm claims fare better. Onego didn’t plead facts supporting its assertion that EVERY’s claims about its own product harmed Onego’s reputation. Nor did alleged risk to the egg protein replacement market as a whole state a cognizable injury, even if that market is nascent.