Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI) announced in a press release that the specialist Patents Court of the High Court of England and Wales has entered its written judgment following the recent trial in the patent enforcement case against Smith & Nephew.

After considering the prior art presented at trial, the Court determined that important claims in the KCI patent covering the use of foam dressing kits with NPWT systems are valid. The Court also ruled that Smith & Nephew's foam-based NPWT dressing kits infringe the patent claims.

The Court’s judgment extends the existing injunction preventing Smith & Nephew from promoting or selling those dressing kits in the United Kingdom, while the Court considers the precise form of the injunction order and other remedies which give effect to the judgment. The court also granted the parties permission to appeal the judgment. The patent at issue in the case is exclusively licensed to KCI from Wake Forest University Health Sciences.

“We are pleased that the British Court has affirmed the validity of these key claims of the Wake Forest patent,” said Catherine M. Burzik, KCI’s president and CEO.

“Millions of patients have benefited from KCI’s V.A.C. therapy technology, which is protected by the patent enforced by the UK Court today. We will continue to invest in new technology and the enforcement of our intellectual property rights, and we look forward to bringing new and innovative solutions to patients and caregivers in the future.”

Kinetic Concepts Inc. is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets.
 

SOURCE:AGIPNEWS