Two spine surgery device patents were invalidated last month by a California federal district court, according to a Law 360.
Samy Abdou, MD, brought the case against Alphatec Spine in 2012, alleging the company infringed on devices and methods used in minimal tissue dissection. Dr. Abdou argued Alphatec agreed to acquire rights to the application for one patent, but did not.
The patents would have "passed muster under the old test" — the previous indefiniteness standard — but a United States Supreme Court ruling earlier this year in the Nautilus decision prompted the judge to make this ruling.
The claims fell short of the more rigorous "reasonable certainty" standard for indefiniteness, the judge wrote, as reported in Law 360. Wording in the patent was ambiguous and while "absolute precision" is not necessary, the judge said the wording should include some objective boundaries.
Additionally, Dr. Abdou was not found entitled to provisional rights or royalties for infringement.