3B/BMC Announce Global Strategy To Invalidate ResMed Inc. (RMD) Patent Portfolio - Simultaneous Actions Filed In The United States, Germany And China

BEIJING, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- BMC Medical Co., Ltd. and 3B Medical, Inc. ("3B/BMC") announced today a global strategy to go on offense and seek to invalidate portions of ResMed's patent portfolio in China, Germany and the United States. James Xu, General Manager of BMC, confirmed that challenges to a large body of patents have already been filed simultaneously in all three countries, and will expand to other countries when necessary. "We have a significant investment in research and development, and we believe that ResMed's patents, which we actually attacked, can be seriously challenged. We have to be proactive in the global landscape to assert our right to compete in this product space," said Mr. Xu.

BMC has initiated invalidity proceedings in China against five of ResMed's patents before the Chinese Patent Re-examination Boards (PRB). With court hearings concluded, one of the five patents has been revoked entirely by the PRB, and the other four cases are still pending.

Last week, 3B/BMC announced the filing of a petition for Inter Partes Review (IPR) with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  The petition, IPR 2014-01196, challenges the validity of a ResMed patent relating to a CPAP humidifier device. Since the America Invents Act created the IPR process in September 2012, hundreds of petitions have been filed. The PTAB has instituted IPR proceedings in most instances and cancelled a majority of patent claims challenged in these proceedings. "We are continuing to study ResMed's patent portfolio to identify further challenges," said Xu.

BMC has also announced the initiation of patent invalidation proceedings in Germany against two ResMed's patents.

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About BMC:

As China's leading provider of home-use sleep therapy devices and services, BMC adheres to the mission of efficient product research and development as well as constant technology innovation, quality improvement, and cost reduction. It now possesses a large number of independently developed intellectual property rights, and its products have been sold to more than 80 countries across the world.

For more information about BMC, please visit http://www.bmc-medical.com.

SOURCE BMC Medical Co., Ltd.