Overview
As technology continues to open exciting new vistas in healthcare, leading innovators depend on our Healthcare Information Technology Group to help them secure and protect the breakthroughs that empower providers and benefit patients. Many within our team hold advanced degrees in Medicine (M.D.), Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Electrical Engineering, giving them unique perspectives into the many medical, legal, professional and economic dynamics that shape this important industry.
Our range of expertise is truly unmatched, and includes invention harvesting and prioritization; offensive portfolio strategy; internal IP audits; international IP strategy; competitive landscape evaluation; right-to-practice studies; design-around strategy; investment and acquisition diligence; reexaminations, priority contests and opposition; and litigation.
To date we have filed more than 5,000 healthcare patent applications in fields ranging from hospital network systems and medical imaging to patient parameter monitoring and mobile applications for clinicians and patients. In addition, we have helped promote innovation in cardiac pacing and defibrillation, distributed storage of medical data, glucose monitoring, medical telemetry, personalized medicine, and the secure storage and transmission of medical records.
We also launched KnobbeMedical.com, a free cooperative portal that provides corporate, regulatory, legal, manufacturing, and other resources for entrepreneurs, executives, clinicians, researchers, investors, and corporate board members who are exploring a start-up, joint venture or spin-off in the medical device industry.
Representative Experience
Masimo Corporation
The firm represented Masimo Corporation in a patent infringement case involving pulse oximeters and signal processing. After trial and appeal, Masimo settled the case and received $330 million and additional future royalties, the largest recorded settlement in an IP case filed in Orange County, California.
Nobel Biocare USA, LLC v. Technique D'Usinage Sinlab
We obtained summary judgment for Nobel Biocare. Competitor Sinlab accused Nobel of willfully infringing five U.S. patents for computerized dental surgery planning and customized dental prosthetics. The parties had litigated related patents for years in Canada and Europe. To quickly end this infringement threat, we filed a declaratory judgment action in the “rocket docket” of the Eastern District of Virginia. Only six months after filing suit, the court granted summary judgment of non-infringement on all patents at issue. The case subsequently settled globally very favorably to Nobel.
Bycast Acquisition
The firm’s client Bycast, which develops software for distributed and cloud-based storage of medical and other data, was acquired in 2010 by NetApp.
Pacesetter Systems Inc. and Savcor Inc. Acquisition
Firm client Pacesetter Systems Inc. and Savcor Inc., leading developers of implantable cardiac technology, were acquired by St. Jude Medical, CRMD.
VitalCom, Inc. Acquisition
Firm client VitalCom, Inc., which developed medical telemetry and patient location tracking systems, was acquired by GE Medical.