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Date Announced: 07 May 2013
Utah-based firm had filed a lawsuit against Biolase just over a year ago.
IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - May 07, 2013) - BIOLASE, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOL), the world's leading dental laser manufacturer and distributor, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") issued an office action in a reexamination proceeding rejecting all of the claims of Utah-based CAO Group, Inc.'s (the "CAO Group's") U.S. Patent No. 7,485,116 (the "116 Patent") that were subject to reexamination.
This is the second office action in which the USPTO has rejected those same claims. BIOLASE initiated the reexamination in response to the lawsuit the CAO Group filed against BIOLASE on April 24, 2012, for patent infringement of the 116 Patent in the United States District Court, District of Utah.
Federico Pignatelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BIOLASE, stated, "We are very pleased with the results of this latest office action issued by the USPTO, which rejected all 37 claims in the CAO Group's patent that were subject to reexamination. This clearly supports our assertion that the allegations of patent infringement levied by CAO are totally without merit."
The only claimed novelty of the single asserted patent pertains to how excessive fiber is stored, and does not relate to the actual advanced design, features and functions of the ezlase® soft-tissue diode laser. Because all of the pertinent patent claims being asserted by CAO against BIOLASE in the lawsuit have been reexamined by the USPTO, the District Court has stayed CAO's lawsuit pending the final outcome of the reexamination.
Pignatelli continued, "BIOLASE's intellectual property ('IP') portfolio is the cornerstone of laser technology in dentistry and several of our competitors currently license our IP in their own laser products. Although we believe this lawsuit to be frivolous, BIOLASE will not hesitate to defend its rights and valuable IP portfolio."
BIOLASE's ezlase may be the most popular diode laser ever produced to date with more than 5,000 units sold. BIOLASE received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") to initially market the ezlase in early 2007. BIOLASE received an additional FDA 510(k) clearance for tooth whitening in December 2008 and another FDA 510(k) clearance for pain relief and therapy with application in sports medicine, orthopedics, physical therapy, and chiropractic medicine in April 2009. The ezlase has been replaced by the new EPIC 10™ diode platform, which was released in late 2012.
Source: Biolase
E-mail: via web site
Web Site: www.biolase.com
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