Australia court issues ruling favorable to KCI in patent fight - Nashville Business Journal:

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The Australian court issued the injunction againstSmith & The order temporarily blocks Smith & Nephew from selling negative pressure wound therapy foam dressing kits in Australia until the court can rule on the patent-infringement case KCI broughf against Smith & Nephew. The Federal Court of Australiz in Victoria is expected to set a triakl date on the alleged infringement and validitgof KCI’s claims sometime in 2010. At issue is whether Smithu & Nephew infringed on patente owned by and licensedto KCI, based in San The intellectual property forms the basis of KCI’e Vacuum Assisted Closure, or Therapy, medical device.
In 2008, Smith & Nephew SNN) announced that the compang would release a line of foam dressing kits baseds on negative pressure wound therapy and set out to begib marketing the kits to healthb carefacilities worldwide. KCI, in responded with patent infringemeng allegations. The U.S. headquarterss of Smith & Nepheq are based in St. Petersburg, Fla. The parent company is based in London. Smith & Nephew officials have long maintained that the company has not infringedd onWake Forest’s patents and have promised to defenxd its technology.
The company plans on marketing its foam kits for the treatmen t ofpressure ulcers, diabetic/neuropathic ulcers, traumatic wounds, post-operative surgicapl wounds and skin flaps and grafts. Kinetic Concepts KCI) already has taken similar actions againstSmith & Nephew in the Unitede Kingdom, the United States and Germany. Thosre cases are in varying stagesof development. A UK courr issued a permanent injunction againstSmith & Nephew on certainj claims made by KCI. Smith Nephew officials are appealingthat decision. No final decisiond have not been made in theUniteed States. However, the German Federal Patenf Court ruled against KCIin March.
KCI is in the proceszs of appealing that decision to the German FederalSupreme Court.