Patent Suit Ruling Favors Competitor of Trimedyne

SANTA ANA — A U.S. District Court has ruled that a medical product of Surgical Laser Technologies Inc. does not infringe on a Trimedyne Inc. patent.

Surgical Laser said the summary judgment on its side-firing probe is the third ruling in its favor in an infringement suit that Irvine-based Trimedyne filed in January 1995. The first two summary judgments related to Trimedyne’s allegation that Surgical Laser’s contact probes infringed on Trimedyne’s patents on hot metal tips.

Trimedyne filed for reconsideration, a company spokesman said. “We feel we should have been granted our right to present our case before a jury,” he added.

Surgical Laser, based in Montgomeryville, Pa., develops, manufactures and markets lasers and disposable contact laser delivery systems. Trimedyne manufactures lasers and delivery systems for minimally invasive applications for the urology, orthopedic, surgery and cardiovascular fields.