Patent Suit Against Birtcher Moved to Colorado Courts

Birtcher Medical Systems Inc. won an early victory Tuesday in defending its patent for a blood-clotting laser device when a federal judge in Santa Ana agreed to move a lawsuit against it to Colorado.

The patent infringement suit against the Irvine medical supplies company was filed in March by Valleylab Inc. of Boulder, Colo., which claimed that it held the rightful patent to Birtcher’s argon beam coagulator.

The state-of-the-art device emits a stream of ionized argon to stop bleeding while surgeons operate. The relatively new technology has been a source of controversy among companies that manufacture similar devices and are vying for control of the market.

Birtcher successfully defended itself in an earlier patent infringement lawsuit brought by another Colorado company that claimed it had rights to the argon beam coagulator.

In that lawsuit, Valleylab’s patent on Birtcher’s argon beam coagulator was examined by the court, said Birtcher Chief Executive William E. Maya. He added that he feels that his company will receive a fairer hearing there.

“We are pleased that the court concurred in our argument that this case is best heard in Colorado, by a court familiar with both the (Birtcher) patent and the Valleylab patent,” Maya said in a prepared statement.

Attorneys for Birtcher also filed a motion to dismiss the case, but the court did not address that issue, Maya said.