Medical technologies giant Stryker announced on Tuesday, October 1st, that it completed the acquisition of Vertos Medical for an undisclosed amount. Vertos Medical is a privately held company specializing in interventional pain management solutions for chronic back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis.
CROCS, INC. v. EFFERVESCENT, INC.
Before Reyna, Cunningham and Albright. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
Summary: A claim that an unpatented product feature is “patented,” “proprietary,” or “exclusive” may violate Section 43(a)(1)(B) of the Lanham Act.
Cook Medical recently announced it is selling its lead management portfolio to Merit Medical. Cook Medical is a medical device manufacturer with a portfolio of products used in lead management procedures, including for patients who need a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator lead removed or replaced. Merit Medical is a manufacturer of disposable medical devices and has products used in interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures, including in the fields of cardiology, critical care, endoscopy, oncology, and radiology.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued warning letters to two third-party nonclinical testing laboratories. The FDA cited the laboratories for “oversight failures and animal care violations that raise concerns with the quality and integrity of data generated.” The press release can be found here.
Getinge, a Swedish public limited company, announced on September 11, 2024 that it completed acquisition of Paragonix Technologies, Inc., a U.S. company specializing in organ transport products and services. According to Getinge’s press release, the total purchase price was $477 million.
On August 14, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R)-blocking antibody, NIKTIMVO (axatilimab-csfr) developed by Incyte Corporation (and in-licensed from Syndax Pharmaceuticals), for treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) after failure of at least two prior lines of systemic therapy in adult and pediatric patients weighing at least 40 kg.
CONTOUR IP HOLDING LLC v. GOPRO, INC.
Before Reyna, Prost, and Schall. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Summary: Claims are patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 where the written description discloses improving technology through specific technological means and the claims reflect that improvement.
BROADBAND ITV, INC. v. AMAZON.COM, INC.
Before Dyk, Reyna, and Stark. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Summary: When assessing patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, combining two abstract ideas does not make either less abstract, and conventionality can be analyzed at both steps of the Alice test.
OSSEO IMAGING, LLC v. PLANMECA USA INC.
Before Dyk, Clevenger, and Stoll. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Summary: An expert witness can testify from the perspective of a POSITA at the time of the invention even if they did not qualify as a POSITA until later.
Today Representatives Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) introduced the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA), bipartisan legislation mirroring a proposed law introduced last year by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE). The proposed law seeks to restore patent eligibility to inventions across many fields and affirms the basic principle that the patent system is central to promoting technology-based innovation.