Azbil BioVigilant, Inc.,, inventors of Instantaneous Microbial Detection™, announced today that the Company filed a request, on April 12, 2012, with the US Patent and Trademark Office seeking reexamination of a patent involving the use of a laser diode, and which is the subject of patent infringement litigation filed earlier this year by TSI, Inc. TSI failed in a prior litigation filed in Minnesota against Azbil BioVigilant on the same patent, voluntarily dismissing that action. Azbil BioVigilant maintains that TSI’s claim is invalid since multiple prior art references taught the claimed use of a laser diode. Azbil BioVigilant also maintains that they do not infringe the TSI patent.
“Like others, our product line is an outgrowth of our early experiences in bio-defense. Early on, however, we recognized an unmet need among pharmaceutical drug makers who were looking to advance the methods in use to monitor their drug making environments,” said Azbil BioVigilant CEO Aric Meares. “Since then, we have worked very closely with the recognized brand names in Pharma and leading FDA regulatory experts to understand and address their unique needs for rapid microbial detection. We remain confident in our ability to continue to build on our leadership position, the broad patent portfolio and trade secrets incorporated into our IMD-A systems, and are taking all necessary steps to defend against recent patent infringement allegations which we believe are without merit,” he added.
Representing Azbil BioVigilant in its patent litigation is Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP.