HAMM, Germany, Dec. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2011, Align Technology (maker of Invisalign® aligners) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Ortho Caps GmbH (maker of Orthocaps® aligners) asserting that Ortho Caps infringes five Align Technology patents (EP2263599, EP2263598, EP0989828, EP1369091, and EP1143872) with respect to the production and sale of orthocaps aligners.
In response, Ortho Caps filed two invalidity lawsuits against two of the patents in dispute (German parts of EP0989828, EP1369091) before the Federal Patent Court of the Federal Republic of Germany in Munich, since these European patents, as a whole, could no longer be challenged before the European Patent Office. Against the remaining three patents (EP2263599, EP2263598 and EP1143872), Ortho Caps filed oppositions before the European Patent Office (proceedings are underway).
Finally, on April 29, 2014 the German Federal Patent Court invalidated the German part of the patent EP1369091. In an attempt to save a part of what was claimed in the patent, Align filed auxiliary claims during the oral hearing. However, the court invalidated the patent in its entirety.
Likewise, on May 06, 2014 the German Federal Patent Court invalidated the German part of the patent EP0989828. Again, in an attempt to save a part of what was claimed in the patent, Align filed auxiliary claims during the oral hearing. However, the court invalidated this patent in its entirety as well.
Align Technology appealed these decisions before the German Federal Court of Justice, Bundesgerichtshof (Supreme Court).
Finally, on November 29, 2016 the Bundesgerichtshof, rejected the appeal and upheld the decision of the Federal Patent Court regarding the German part of the Patent EP0989828. The court also annulled the main claim, as well as most of the other claims, regarding the German part of the patent EP1369091 and only accepted an auxiliary modified claim as valid.
Commenting on the decision Dr. Wajeeh Khan, managing director and founder of Ortho Caps said, "We are thrilled to see that the highest court in Germany totally shares our view that the patents in dispute should never have been granted. Moreover, we wanted to prove that the technology in dispute was well known in orthodontics before these patents were filed by Align Technology, and the reason for our success is that we were able to do so."
About Ortho Caps:
Privately owned German dental product company, that makes and sells clear orthodontic aligners. orthocaps® aligners are custom made from soft thermoplastics, which are chosen according to patient's treatment needs. This TwinAligner® system uses two different types of aligners for day and night use for each treatment step. The use of soft materials makes the orthodontic treatment more effective and less painful for patients. Ortho Caps products include orthocaps® "classic", orthocaps® "pro", orthocaps® "MxD" and Hybrid Aligner Treatment (HAT) systems.
Jocelyne Khan
Executive Director
Ortho Caps Gmbh
jocelyne.khan@orthocaps.de
Tel. +49-02385-92190
