Opinion ID: 2757595
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Davison Patent and the Ethicon Prototype

Text: In 1993, Ultracision, Inc. commercialized an ultrasonic surgical device similar to the claimed invention, as shown in Figure 1 below. The device includes a shaft capable of fitting through a trocar with a ten millimeter 4 TYCO HEALTHCARE GRP. LP v. ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC. diameter. In 1994, Ultracision obtained the Davison patent covering that invention. The Davison patent describes and depicts both straight and curved bladeclamp configurations, such as Figure 8p depicted below. It further discloses that a benefit of using a curved blade is that it “facilitates treatment of tissue at awkward angles of approach.” Davison patent col. 13 ll. 23–24. Ultracision then worked to modify the design of the patented device so that it could fit through a trocar with a five millimeter diameter, as a narrower trocar improves the effectiveness of surgery by minimizing the size of the incision site. By November 1995, Ultracision had built and tested a prototype with this modified design that could cut and coagulate tissue. After Ethicon acquired Ultracision at the end of 1995, Ethicon worked to perfect the modified design for commercialization. As depicted in the drawing below, Ethicon completed this design (the Ethicon Prototype) by November 1996. The Ethicon Prototype employed a single pin and slot design and could successfully cut and coagulate tissue by December 1996. Ethicon nevertheless sought to increase the size of the blade so that the device could cut and seal larger blood vessels, and modified the clamp to use two pins and two slots to accommodate the larger blade. TYCO HEALTHCARE GRP. LP v. ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC. 5 J.A. 12133. From August to December 1997, the Ethicon Proto- type, with the increased blade size and pair of pins and slots, successfully cut and sealed large vessels. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for commercialization in April 1998, and Ethicon launched products based on the prototype in August 1998. Ethicon had also filed patent applications covering the Ethicon Prototype in October 1997. These applications resulted in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,873,873 and 5,980,510, which issued in 1999 (“Ethicon patents”).