Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
Indianapolis, Indiana – Patent attorneys for Bonutti Research, Inc. (“Bonutti”) and Joint
Active Systems, Inc. (“JAS”), both of Effingham, Illinois, filed an intellectual property lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Lantz Medical, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana (“Lantz”) infringed multiple patents: “Orthosis,” Patent No. 5,848,979; “Elbow Orthosis,” Patent No. 7,955,286; “Finger Orthosis,” Patent No. 7,404,804; and “Orthosis,” Patent No. 7,112,179, which have been issued by the U.S. Patent Office.
Bonutti claims ownership by assignment of four patents. The patents at issue are:
• Patent No. 5,848,979 (“the ‘979 patent”), titled “Orthosis,” which generally covers apparatuses for use in effecting relative movement between bones in an arm of a patient, was issued in 1998.
• Patent No. 7,112,179 (“the ‘179 patent”), titled “Orthosis,” which generally covers apparatuses for stretching tissue around a joint of a patient between first and second relatively pivotable body portions, was issued in 2006.
• Patent No. 7,404,804 (“the ‘804 patent”), titled “Finger Orthosis,” which generally covers apparatuses for positioning a joint in a finger on a hand of a patient, was issued in 2008.
• Patent No. 7,955,286 (“the ‘286 patent”), titled “Elbow Orthosis,” which generally covers apparatuses for stretching tissue around a joint of a patient between first and second relatively pivotable body portions, was issued in 2011.
The ‘979, ‘179, ‘286, and ‘804 patents are licensed exclusively to JAS. Among the products that JAS develops and markets are products covered by the patents-in-suit, including the JAS Pro/Sup, JAS EZ Pro/Sup, JAS EZ Elbow, JAS EZ Wrist, and JAS EZ Finger products.
Defendant Lantz manufactures and sells, among other products, the Stat-A-Dyne® ESP, Stat-A-Dyne® Pro/Sup, Stat-A-Dyne® Elbow, and Stat-A-Dyne® WHFO products. Bonutti and JAS contend that these products infringe their patented inventions and are sold in direct competition with products offered for sale by JAS.
In a complaint filed by patent attorneys for Plaintiffs, the following claims are made:
• Count I: Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,848,979
• Count II: Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,955,286
• Count III: Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,404,804
• Count IV: Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,112,179
Plaintiffs Bonutti and JAS seek injunctive relief, damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and attorneys’ fees.
Practice Tip: Since September 2012, Bonutti Skeletal Innovations LLC, an entity believed to be related to Bonutti Research, Inc., has initiated a series of patent-infringement lawsuits against medical-device manufacturers, including Depuy, Inc.; Zimmer, Inc.; Smith & Nephew, Inc.; Wright Medical Group, Inc.; ConforMIS, Inc.; Arthrex, Inc.; Linvatec Corporation; ConMed Corporation and Biomet, Inc. We blogged about the Biomet lawsuit, in which Biomet sought declaratory judgment of non-infringement and invalidity the Bonutti patents, here.
The suit was filed by Steven D. Groth of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP and Robert M. Evans, Jr., Michael J. Hartley, and Elizabeth E. Fabick of Senninger Powers LLP. The case was assigned to District Judge Sarah Evans Barker and Magistrate Judge Mark J. Dinsmore in the Southern District of Indiana and assigned Case No. 1:14-cv-00609-SEB-MJD.