Spinal implant inventor sues over four ‘infringed’ products

RSB Spine files patent infringement lawsuit against competitors over spinal implant products | Plaintiff claims the defendants had knowledge of patent infringement.

RSB Spine has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Orthofix Medical and its subsidiary SeaSpine alleging that the pair infringed RSB’s spinal implant system.

RSB Spine was founded in 2001 to develop and market innovative spinal implant concepts.

The disputed patent, US patent number 9,713,537, covers medical stabilisation devices used in the treatment of spinal injuries.

In August 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration approved RSB’s InterPlate product, as a vertebral body replacement.

The InterPlate product technology for performing fusion procedures in the lumbar and cervical spine.

In the complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, RSB Spine claimed that Orthofix and SeaSpine have been manufacturing and distributing spinal therapy products, such as the LoneStar Cervical Stand Alone System, the Complete Cervical Intervertebral Body Fusion Device System, the Shoreline System, and the Meridian with Reef A System.

Knowledge of patent infringement

RSB Spine also said it had been in communication with Orthofix and SeaSpine regarding patent infringement since August 2019.

In August 2019, RSB Spine allegedly contacted Orthofix and SeaSpine to notify them of alleged patent infringement, offering to discuss licensing solutions and pointing out specific violations in their products.

Orthofix initially denied any infringement in September 2019, but RSB Spine reiterated the infringement claims in a response letter in November 2019.

Similarly, SeaSpine responded in November 2019, expressing its unwillingness to enter meaningful licensing discussions.

In December 2019, RSB Spine said it provided additional evidence of SeaSpine's infringement, including detailed infringement charts.

In April 2021, the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board upheld the patentability of the '537 patent.

According to the latest complaint, RSB Spine continued to reach out to Orthofix and SeaSpine inviting them to engage in licensing discussions until this year, but no agreement was reached.

The counsel for RSB Spine is  Mark Siegmund from  Cherry Johnson Siegmund James,  Erik Milch,  Elizabeth Shrieves,  Baldassare Vinti,  Marc Palmer,  Susan Gutierrez, and  Margaret Ukwu from  Proskauer Rose.

The counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants.

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