MESA, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fusion Orthopedics, LLC wins! Judgment has been entered against Extremity Medical LLC from the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) through an inter partes review (“IPR”) of U.S. Patent No. 11,298,166 (‘166 patent) wherein the PTAB found 14 claims of the ‘166 patent are invalid and denied both of Extremity Medical, LLC’s motions to amend the claims of the ‘166 patent. As the record reflects, dependent claim 11 of the ‘166 patent is also invalid. As such, any frivolous efforts by Extremity Medical, LLC to continue to assert invalid claims will likely be held as bad faith and sanctionable.
Extremity Medical, LLC (“Extremity Medical”) allegedly filed the ‘166 patent in 2021 targeting the IntraLock, which launched in 2019, for the sole purpose of attempting to harass and extract an unreasonable settlement from Fusion Orthopedics, LLC (“Fusion Orthopedics”). Subsequently, Extremity Medical filed a bad faith patent infringement lawsuit on April 28th, 2023, allegedly to subdue Fusion Orthopedics’ explosive rise in the foot and ankle market. (See Case No. 22-CV-00723-GMS).
In Federal Court, Extremity Medical has aggressively sought to enforce invalid patent claims within the ‘166 Patent Family against Fusion Orthopedics, Zimmer Biomet, and Paragon 28. In the matter between Extremity Medical and Zimmer Biomet, Extremity Medical was sanctioned in the amount of $52,573.00 for Zimmer Biomet’s attorneys’ fees in pursuing frivolous patent infringement claims. Fusion Orthopedics will likely seek similar monetary relief at the appropriate time against Extremity Medical. (See Case No. 22-CV-00239-GBW).
Given this history, Fusion Orthopedics believes that baseless shakedown litigation is an accepted business practice of Extremity Medical under the leadership of Matthew Lyons, Extremity Medical’s CEO and Founder.
Fusion Orthopedics believes Extremity Medical has numerous invalid patents that they may assert against Fusion Orthopedics (E.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 8,303,589, 8,900,274, 9,364,271, 9,877,752, 10,751,097, “the ‘166 Patent Family”). This IPR is likely the first of many to be successfully pursued against Extremity Medical’s ‘166 Patent Family by Fusion Orthopedics.
As a matter of good public policy, Fusion Orthopedics is deeply committed to combating any such abusive and bad faith legal tactics by Extremity Medical, Matthew Lyons, and others. It is Fusion Orthopedics’ practice to recognize and respect valid intellectual property of others. Fusion Orthopedics is undeterred in its pursuit as an innovator in technology related to foot and ankle orthopedic devices. Fusion Orthopedics stands by the disruptive IntraLock product, especially when wrongfully accused of patent infringement.
