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Catheter Connections® Sues Ivera Medical Corporation for Patent Infringement, Unfair Competition, Deceptive Practices and False Advertising

06-Jun-2012 | Source : | Visits : 9163
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Catheter Connections Inc. announced in a press release that it has filed two lawsuits against Ivera Medical Corporation (“Ivera”), in the US District Court of Utah, Central Division, Case Nos. 2:12-cv-00531-PMW and 2:12-cv-00530-BCW.

Catheter Connections is a start-up company in Salt Lake City, Utah, co-founded by nurses seeking to reduce deadly hospital-acquired bloodstream infections. In its mission to save patient lives, Catheter Connections conceived and developed the DualCap System™, which includes DualCap® ─ the only 510(k) cleared medical device that disinfects and protects the male luer connector at the end of the IV tubing (“male luer”). On April 8, 2010, Catheter Connections received 510(k) premarket clearance for DualCap. On May 8, 2012, United States Patent No. 8,172,825 (‘825 Patent), entitled “Methods For Disinfecting Medical Connectors,” was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This patent covers key aspects of the DualCap technology, including a method of disinfecting IV male luers. Catheter Connections manufactures, markets, and sells the DualCap System.

Case No. 2:12-cv-00531-PMW accuses Ivera of patent infringement and unlawfully promoting and preparing to sell a “me-too” copy of Catheter Connections’ DualCap component that disinfects and protects the male luer. The suit claims that Ivera’s promotional activities are part of a scheme to mislead customers as to the clearance status of Ivera’s male luer cap and the truth about when the product will be available, in order to convince customers not to purchase DualCap. The Complaint alleges Ivera’s male luer cap is not 510(k) cleared, which is required before the product can be legally sold in the United States. Catheter Connections alleges in its Complaint that no disclaimers regarding the regulatory status of Ivera’s male luer cap are displayed at tradeshows where its product is exhibited. Catheter Connections charges Ivera with:
■Patent Infringement
■False or Misleading Advertising under the Lanham Act
■Unfair Competition under Utah common law
■Violation of the Utah Truth In Advertising Act
■Violation of the Utah Unfair Practices Act.
■Violation of the Utah Unfair Competition Act

Catheter Connections’ civil action seeks temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief prohibiting Ivera from infringing the ‘825 patent and from engaging in false or misleading promotion of its non-510(k) cleared male luer cap. Compensatory, treble, and punitive damages are sought to compensate Catheter Connections for Ivera’s unlawful activities.

Case No. 2:12-cv-00530-BCW seeks a declaratory judgment that Catheter Connections does not infringe Ivera’s issued U.S. patents and that such patents are invalid. The suit accuses Ivera of filing Ivera v. Catheter Connections, Case. No.3:12-cv-0954-H (WVG) (S.D.Ca.) under the patent laws for improper purposes, including interfering with Catheter Connections’ market penetration, market traction, financings, and business focus.

“These actions signal to the market that Catheter Connections will vigorously defend its intellectual property,” according to Vicki Farrar, Esq., CEO of Catheter Connections. “We will not stand by and let Ivera mislead the market or unlawfully exploit the tireless efforts of the founders and the investment made in Catheter Connections by investors who believed in the nurses’ dream of saving patients from deadly infections. The company worked very hard over many years to bring this technology to the public, and we simply feel the actions of Ivera are wrong and unlawful. We look forward to presenting our cases and are very confident that the truth will come out and that Catheter Connections will prevail.”

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Catheter Connections® Inc., develops and commercializes innovative vascular access products designed to protect patients from acquiring infections during intravenous infusion therapy.
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