Dow Jones Newswires | U.S. food company Sara Lee Corp. on Tuesday denied charges it infringed patents of Nestle SA’s Nespresso coffee system.

“We are confident that our product complies with all legal and
regulatory requirements,” a spokesman for Sara Lee told Dow Jones
Newswires. “We are confident about the outcome of this case.”

Swiss food giant Nestle said earlier Tuesday that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in France against the U.S. firm, saying Sara Lee had infringed on the company’s Nespresso patents, declining to provide more details.

Nestle’s Nespresso coffee system is one of the company’s best sold brands. Its success has attracted competitors, which earlier this year launched their own products. Switzerland-based Ethical Coffee Co., a privately held company, said that Nestle has taken no action against the firm.

Sara Lee said that since the launch of its L’or Espresso capsules in France in April, it has sold around 12 million capsules, which “is at the high end of our expectations,” the spokesman said.