Ivera Medical is taking a new tactic in targeting rival Catheter Connections, accusing the company of falsely advertising its catheter protection caps as U.S.-made.
Ivera is asking for a jury trial to determine whether Cather Connections’ label, featuring a small factory-like icon beside the contact information for the company’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, amounts to false advertising and unfair competition that have damaged its competitive standing.
"We are proud that our Curos products are actually made in the USA," Ivera CEO Bob Rogers said in prepared remarks. "Given the importance many facilities place on buying American-made products, especially in U.S. Government hospitals like the VA and Department of Defense, it is just not acceptable to mislead customers about the manufacturer of a product like this."
The lawsuit, filed last week, is not the 1st to pit these companies against each other. Ivera last year sued Catheter Connections for patent infringement, claiming that the DualCap Solo single-use disinfecting cap violated patents owned by Ivera.
Late last month Ivera also announced a 2nd lawsuit against Covidien (NYSE:COV), claiming patent infringement of a 4th patent, adding to the 3 cited in a separate patent infringement lawsuit filed against Covidien earlier in the month. Ivera has filed similar patent infringement lawsuits against at least 3 rivals in the last year.