Last week, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, LLP secured a case victory on behalf of client Applied Medical Resources, Inc. in an inventorship dispute filed by Covidien and Gaya Ltd. On July 11, the Central District Court of California issued a 132 page ruling in Applied Medical’s favor, stating that no individuals associated with Covidien or Gaya should be named as either sole or joint inventors on any of the Applied Medical patents at issue.
In September 2011, Applied Medical sued Covidien for infringing on their patent for certain surgical access devices, called trocars, used for performing laparoscopic surgery. Applied Medical later asserted, in a separate suit, that Covidien’s SILS Port, a multiple access port used in the incision during laparoscopic surgery, also infringed on their patent.
After Applied Medical filed their initial suits, Covidien purchased rights to both products in dispute from Gaya Limited, who claimed to have invented both disputed products. In response, Covidien and Gaya requested that the inventorship of the patents be corrected to name Gaya’s individuals as the original inventors. The Court’s ruling fully resolved the inventorship dispute in Applied Medical’s favor.
Applied Medical’s lead trial counsel, Joseph Re commented on the Court’s decision stating, “Rarely do you see an opinion which combs through the evidence in such detail. The evidence was truly overwhelming that Applied’s engineers alone were correctly named as inventors on all of the patents.”
Download the full opinion here.
With over 275 lawyers and scientists nationwide, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property law including litigation. Consistently ranked among the top intellectual property firms worldwide, Knobbe Martens serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. Headquartered in Orange County, California, Knobbe Martens also has offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle and Washington, D.C. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.
