Mako Surgical (NSDQ:MAKO) filed a pair of lawsuits against Stanmore Implants alleging patent infringement over robotic surgery technology, and filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission over the alleged violations.
The lawsuits, filed in the U.S. District Courts for Northern California and Massachusetts, accuse Elstree, U.K.- and Plymouth, Mass.-based Stanmore of violating 3 patents covering haptic guidance systems for robotic surgery applications with its Sculptor robotic guidance arm, according to court documents.
"Mako has invested tens of millions of dollars developing a significant portfolio of technologies," president & CEO Dr. Maurice Ferré said in prepared remarks. "We are intent on protecting our leadership position in the field of robotically assisted orthopedic surgery."
Mako isn’t the only medical device company with a beef against Stanmore, which won FDA clearance for the Sculptor device for partial knee resurfacing procedures last month. A year ago, ConforMIS officially contested Stanmore’s patent application for a personalized knee replacement system that Stanmore Implants claimed to be the world’s 1st.
"ConforMIS strongly disagrees with the recent claim in a press release issued by Stanmore and Imperial Innovations Group that they are developing the ‘world’s first fully personalized early knee replacement surgery system,’ and ConforMIS has filed papers that will help set the record straight," ConforMIS CEO Philip Lang said at the time.