Propel Moves To Cancel Competitor's Patents
NEW YORK, Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to open the market to greater competition among vibratory orthodontic devices, Propel Orthodontics, LLC announced that the Patent Trial and Appeals Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office formally accepted today a Petition for Inter Partes Review (IPR) under the America Invents Act (AIA) to cancel all claims of a patent owned by rival OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc.
In enacting the AIA, Congress entrusted the Patent Office to address the detrimental effect that bad patents can have on innovation. As Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) noted when he sponsored the AIA, inter partes review proceedings are used by the Patent Office to "screen out bad patents."
"Although OrthoAccel Technologies has never accused Propel of infringing this patent, and we don't, we nevertheless believe it's important to get rid of the bad patents that OrthoAccel has used to erect barriers to competition in the market for vibratory orthodontic devices," said Mr. Bryce Way, CEO of Propel. "We're happy to be doing our part to improve patent quality among U.S. medical device patents," said Mr. Way, who further noted that: "This is just our first AIA challenge to the AcceleDent® patents. For example, OrthoAccel recently filed a lawsuit alleging that Propel infringes one of its other patents. While we don't infringe that patent, we believe that it is invalid and deserves review by the Patent Office."
The Inter Partes Review proceeding is docketed as Case No. IPR2017-00239 before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and seeks to invalidate U.S. Patent No. 8,500,446, which was purportedly invented by OrthoAccel's Chief Executive Officer, Michael K. Lowe. Propel's IPR petition is publicly available at this link.
About Propel
Propel is a leading innovator, manufacturer and worldwide seller of orthodontic devices with offices in Ossining, New York, and Milpitas, California in the heart of Silicon Valley. The Company provides in-office and at-home orthodontic accessory devices to orthodontists and their patients, including the Excellerator line of products for performing Manual Osteoperforations and the VPro5, a vibratory orthodontic device used to properly seat clear aligners in 5 minutes a day using 120 Hertz of vibration. Propel's mission is to continue to create breakthrough technology that will exceed the expectations and needs of the orthodontic community.
Contact: Calvin J. Fortenberry
Phone Number: 917-932-6465
Email: creativeservices.calvin@gmail.com
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SOURCE Propel Orthodontics, LLC
