Patent court upholds Sedecal appeal

Spanish x-ray developer Sociedad Espanola de Electromedicina y Calidad (Sedecal) is claiming victory in its patent infringement case against South Korean digital radiography (DR) manufacturer DRGEM and its U.S. distributor Blue Ridge X-Ray.

According to Sedecal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently issued an order that reverses a district court's interpretation that a Sedecal patent was invalid and not infringed by DRGEM and Blue Ridge.

Sedecal initially filed its lawsuit in 2010, alleging that DRGEM's GXR model x-ray generators, sold the generators through Blue Ridge under the brand name Pinnacle, copied Sedecal's features. DRGEM and Blue Ridge argued that the patent claimed that the generator was an inoperable device and the GXR model did not infringe on Sedecal's technology.

However, the higher court reversed the district court decision and rejected the defendants' arguments, finding that the patent is valid and that the device is an operable high-voltage transformer. The appeals court decision sends the case back to district court for trial.