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(SAN DIEGO) March 26, 2008 – Heller Ehrman LLP announced that its client, Brazil-based medical device manufacturer, GMReis, has won a key battle in the company’s patent dispute with Synthes (USA) over locking bone plates after the District Court granted GMReis’ motion to dismiss, finding that GMReis was not subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction.
Judge M. James Lorenz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled for GMReis and rejected Synthes’ allegation that GMReis’ appearance at the 2007 American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting in San Diego was aimed at gaining customers in the U.S. In his ruling, Judge Lorenz said that the case lacked jurisdiction in California federal court because GMReis did not benefit from sales as a result of its appearance at the annual meeting and because the company made it clear in the literature it displayed that its products were not approved by the FDA and were not available for sale in the U.S.
“Because GMReis’ trade show activity was not directed at the United States residents, the trade show contacts do not support jurisdiction,” said Judge Lorenz in his opinion. “GMReis’ other contacts with the United States, however, are unrelated to Synthes’ patent infringement claim, which is entirely based on GMReis’ alleged display of certain infringing locking bone plates at the 2007 AAOS annual meeting.”
The judge also rejected Synthes’ arguments that jurisdiction could be based on the fact that GMReis’ CEO was in the district when served with the summons, that GMReis had other limited and unrelated U.S. contacts, and that jurisdiction should be found as a sanction because one of GMReis’ witnesses was unable to travel to the U.S. for a deposition due to an unexpected family illness.
The team from Heller Ehrman that is representing GMReis includes San Diego-based lawyers Matthew Lapple and Christopher Moon. Lapple and Moon are members of Heller Ehrman’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, which consists of more than 80 IP litigators. The firm’s IP clients include industry leaders such as Allergan, Apple, Computer Associates, Depomed, Genentech, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Palm, Symantec, Texas Instruments, and Yahoo! Heller Ehrman’s San Diego office has approximately 50 lawyers who represent emerging and established companies.
About GMReis
GMReis was founded in 1989 by Geraldo Marins dos Reis Jr., MSC, a Biomedical Engineer. The company develops, researches and manufactures medical devices for orthopedics and neurosurgery, including “locking compression plates” used surgically to repair fractured long bones.
About Heller Ehrman LLP
Heller Ehrman LLP has 650 attorneys and professionals in 14 offices worldwide – Anchorage, Alaska; Beijing; Hong Kong; London; Los Angeles; Madison, Wis.; New York; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Shanghai; Singapore; and Washington, D.C. Heller Ehrman represents a wide range of industry leaders, from entrepreneurial, technology-driven enterprises to established, multinational conglomerates. The firm’s core values are Excellence, People, Teamwork, Innovation, Community and One Firm.
