The legal wheel turned another notch in the battle over negative-pressure wound therapy patents between Smith & Nephew and Kinetic Concepts Inc., this time spitting out a decision in favor of the British conglomerate.
The German District Court in Dusseldorf rejected a motion by Kinetic Concepts to bar the marketing of Smith & Nephew’s Renasys EZ NPWT pump there.
The companies are enmeshed in a worldwide battle over patents covering NPWT technology. In late July, KCI won a round in the U.S., after the federal Patent & Trademark Office upheld a trio of the San Antonio, Texas-based wound care firm’s NPWT patents.
That made the score just about even, with victories in the U.S. and Australia for KCI and wins in Germany and the United Kingdom for Smith & Nephew.