Medic-Aid Ltd was a UK-based company that developed and manufactured medical devices.

The issue

We were approached by Medic-Aid after its biggest competitor threatened to sue them for infringement relating to a drug delivery device. The competitor claimed the device infringed one of its patents and an unregistered design right.

It was imperative that Medic-Aid was able to continue to manufacture the device, as sales of the product were critical to the company’s success.

The solution

We carried out an assessment of the competitor’s position with the assistance of a specialist IP barrister. Based on our findings, we recommended that Medic-Aid made modifications to its product in order to avoid infringement and worked with them to identify the components of the device which might be modified.

The client was then able to create a revised design for the device, which would avoid infringement but not alter the performance or manufacturing process involved.

This process was carried out quickly in order to limit the potential for damages from the original product, since any resulting court action would award liability based on the number of infringing products sold.

The outcome

With our help, Medic-Aid were able to identify minor changes that could be made to avoid infringement, without having to incur the expense of retooling. We also successfully defended the competitor’s patent infringement suits in the UK and Germany.