On June 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of WillowWood, Mt. Sterling, Ohio, and reversed a November 2013 judgment in a case filed by ALPS South, St. Petersburg, Florida, asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,552,109 involving prosthetic gel liners. The 2013 judgment in favor of ALPS prevented WillowWood from manufacturing or selling its thermoplastic elastomer liners.
Last week, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with WillowWood that ALPS lacked standing to bring patent infringement claims in the lawsuit.
The case will now return to the district court with instructions to dismiss the action. The patent involved in the original litigation expired in 2014.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this appeal,” said Ryan Arbogast, WillowWood president. “We are currently reviewing the ruling thoroughly with our legal counsel to fully understand the outcomes of the appeal. However, we want to thank both our customers for their wonderful loyalty and support and our team for their extraordinary efforts during the past year.”
