Patent Applications, Inventions, Medical Devices

Colibri Heart Valve LLC v. Medtronic Corevalve, LLC (Fed. Cir. 2025)

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP on 7/23/2025

The doctrine of equivalents (DOE), a creation of the Supreme Court in Graver Tank & Mfg. v. Linde Air Products (1950), is balanced by the concept of prosecution history estoppel (PHE), the contours of which were delineated...more

Recent Developments in Medical Casts

Knobbe Martens on 12/4/2023

On October 5, 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization published Cast21’s PCT application related to its alternative cast device – a 3D-printed exoskeleton created from a medical-grade resin. Cast21’s device seeks...more

Protecting Innovations in SaMD & Biomedical Applications

Foley & Lardner LLP on 6/28/2023

With the ever-growing adaptation of software in all realms of health care, the market for software for medical devices (SaMD) is forecasted to grow 16.7% per year over the next decade and surpass $5 billion by 2032....more

Junker v. Medical Components, Inc.: Pre-filing Offers for Sale Trigger Patent “On-Sale Bar”

Quarles & Brady LLP on 2/15/2022

A recent Federal Circuit decision, Junker v. Med. Components, Inc., No. 2021-1649 (Feb. 10, 2022), serves as a warning to prospective filers that making pre-filing offers for sale, or engaging in discussions for future sales,...more

Researchers Develop Face Mask for Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Knobbe Martens on 8/16/2021

According to an article published in Nature Biotechnology, Harvard and MIT researchers invented a face mask for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, via a user’s breath. Instead of relying on a lab, the...more

Is your funded medical device startup actually a “large entity” according to the USPTO?

Knobbe Martens on 7/8/2021

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) allows a patent applicant to pay reduced fees if it qualifies as a “small entity.” Many types of filing fees are reduced by 50%. These savings can be important for companies on a...more