Given Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: GIVN; TASE: GIVN) today announced that the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Korean Intellectual Property Office said that the company's two Korean patents are valid. The ruling on part of Given Imaging's patent infringement lawsuit against Intromedic Co. Ltd. was filed with Seoul's Central District Court in November 2011.
Given Imaging contended that Intromedic's capsule endoscope, marketed under the brand name MiroCam, infringed two of Given Imaging's Korean patents. In response, Intromedic commenced proceedings before the Korean Intellectual Property Office to invalidate these two patents. The decisions reject Intromedic's invalidity arguments and severely cripple one of Intromedic's main defenses against Given Imaging's patent infringement action. Intromedic may appeal the decisions.
Given Imaging intends to resume the infringement proceedings, which were stayed pending a resolution in the invalidity proceedings by the Intellectual Property Tribunal. If the Central District Court rules in Given Imaging's favor, and grants the company's request for an injunction, Intromedic will not be able to manufacture its capsule endoscope in Korea or sell it from Korea to customers worldwide. Given Imaging expects rulings in these proceedings by the end of this year.
Intromedic has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its MiroCam products, but it has not yet launched sales in the US, which is Given Imaging's primary market.
Given Imaging CFO Yuval Yanai told "Globes", "Intromedic is not a major competitor, but any competitor that takes market share from us disturbs us. This decision means that our patents are valid, and greatly damages their defense."
Given Imaging's share price rose 0.7% in early trading on Nasdaq to $17, giving a market cap of $522 million, after rising 0.9% on the TASE to NIS 67.72.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 9, 2012
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