US District Court Favors Smith & Nephew In Endoscopy Patent Case

Smith & Nephew, an endoscopy division and a subsidiary of Smith & Nephew plc, has reported that the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has ruled in its favor and found privately-held Arthrex, guilty of infringing US Patent 5,645,588. The jury awarded Smith & Nephew $4.7m for Arthrex's past infringement.

Smith & Nephew Endoscopy sued Arthrex nearly three years ago, claiming that Arthrex’s Retrobutton Femoral Fixation device infringed a US patent owned by Smith & Nephew Endoscopy. The patent asserted in the claim covers Smith & Nephew’s Endobutton Fixation Device and similar devices for attaching tissue grafts to bone during arthroscopic surgery in the knee.

The company plans to seek an injunction that will stop Arthrex from selling the infringing Retrobutton Femoral Fixation device.

Mike Frazzette, president of Smith & Nephew Endoscopy, said: “Smith & Nephew has a long and proud history of providing medical devices that help surgeons to deliver positive patient outcomes. As a result, we will vigorously protect our intellectual property rights against Arthrex and other companies that infringe our patents.”