Ivera Medical Corporation Files Patent Infringement Suit Against Covidien plc

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - September 17, 2013) - Ivera Medical Corporation, headquartered in San Diego, CA, filed suit against Covidien for patent infringement arising under the patent laws of the United States of America, 35 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Case No. 3:13-cv-2147-JAH-BLM.

Ivera manufactures, markets, and sells the Curos® Disinfecting Port Protector, a device that disinfects and protects the entry port on certain types of valves used with intravenous lines. On August 24, 2010, United States Patent No. 7,780,794 B2 (the '794 patent), on an invention entitled "Medical Implement Cleaning Device," was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) followed by the issuance of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,985,302 B2 (the '302 patent) on July 26, 2011 and 8,206,514 (the '514 patent) on June 26, 2012. These three patents cover key aspects of products used to passively disinfect and protect intravenous access ports.

The Ivera suit claims that Covidien is selling throughout the United States a line of products it refers to as the Kendall™ Disinfectant Cap Family that infringe one or more claims of Ivera's patents, and that Ivera has been damaged due to these acts of infringement by Covidien and will continue to suffer irreparable injury unless Covidien's activities are enjoined.

"Through great effort, Ivera has secured strong intellectual property rights to cover our disinfecting port protector technology and we will do all in our power to protect our rights. Two of these patents have already been reaffirmed by the USPTO through a competitor initiated re-exam procedure. It seems incredible that a company like Covidien would knowingly enter a market, still in its early growth stage, with a product that is the subject of an existing patent infringement action. The exposure they have, including treble damages and the potential to disgorge all profits, for them is quite large," said Ivera Medical CEO, Bob Rogers. Ivera has asked the courts to permanently enjoin Covidien from further infringing on the '794, '302, and '514 patents, require Covidien to withdraw from distributing all infringing products and to award damages adequate to compensate Ivera for the damages it has suffered as a result of Covidien's willful infringement.

About Ivera Medical
Ivera Medical Corporation, a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), is focused on the design, development, manufacture, marketing and sale of products that help healthcare providers reduce facility-acquired patient bloodstream infections. Curos, manufactured in Carlsbad, CA, is the first disinfecting cap to be marketed in the U.S. and has received the FDA's 510(k) market clearance. For more information about Curos and Ivera Medical, visit the website at www.curos.com

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