Birtcher/Conmed litigation
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Birtcher files suit against Conmed, seeking a declaration that the pad monitoring devices used with four of its electrosurgical generators do not infringe a patent held by Conmed subsidiary Aspen Laboratories. The Feb. 24 complaint also seeks to declare Conmed's patent invalid on grounds that the technology is "not new or unique." The filing follows a month of unsuccessful negotiations between the two firms. At the end of the negotiations, Conmed indicated that it intends to charge Birtcher with patent infringement. Conmed says it will issue a response to the Birtcher filing and a countersuit within 30 days. Birtcher has recently prevailed over Beacon and Valleylab in separate patent infringement suits related to argon gas coagulator technology ("The Gray Sheet" Feb. 22, p. 16).