Italian competitor's infringement claims rebutted once again, marking its sixth defeat to date
GUILFORD, Maine, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Puritan Medical Products—the world's most trusted manufacturer of swabs and specimen collection and transport devices —is proud to celebrate yet another affirmation of patent law, this time in Sweden. The Swedish patent lawsuit filed by Italian swab-maker Copan Italia S.p.A. hit a dead end earlier this month, with the Swedish Court of Appeals confirming that Puritan's flocked swabs do not infringe any claims of Copan's European Patent that supposedly protects the Italian company's core flocked swab technology.
Copan launched a patent offensive against Puritan distributor Svenska LABFAB in Sweden back in April 2019, after losing a competitive bid in Sweden. The Italian company announced the Swedish lawsuit during a trade show in the Netherlands, handing out flyers claiming "that Svenska LABFAB has committed a willful infringement of the patent covering COPAN's core flocked swab technology." By June 2020, however, the Swedish courts sided with LABFAB and handed Copan a resounding defeat. LABFAB successfully defeated the infringement claims and even earned legal fees for its efforts.
Later that year, in November 2020, Puritan similarly defeated the Italian competitor in a string of German lawsuits and appeals, also earning legal fees. Fast forward to 2022, and Copan suffered another defeat at the hands of the International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C. In that case, Copan accused rival Chinese swab makers of infringing its patents, only for the claims to be denied by an ITC judge. Copan has now lost six lawsuits in which it asserted flocked swab patent infringement.
"Heading into 2023, Puritan's hard-working team can celebrate yet another legal victory that upholds patent law," said Bob Shultz, President and CFO at Puritan. "Copan's latest defeat is a strong message to our entire industry that good-faith business practices are paramount in this day and age. We are happy that this most recent distraction is now behind us, as we look ahead to doing right by our customers in the new year."
To schedule an interview, please contact Virginia Templet, vatemplet@puritanmedproducts.com.
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