On Monday, a complaint was filed in the Western District of Texas by PM Holdings against the Heart of Texas Surgical Center and Cath Labs. This case is regarding a design patent for the construction and layout of a hybrid ambulatory surgical center.
Cardio-vascular procedures are required by a large number of Americans as heart disease is a leading cause of death, the complaint explained. Traditionally, cardio-vascular procedures are performed inpatient to take advantage of the radiological facilities that inpatient hospitals can provide in their surgical suites. The plaintiff said they came up with a design for outpatient ambulatory surgical centers that can provide these radiological services in a standalone surgical suite, permitting these more intensive cardio-vascular procedures to be performed on an outpatient basis. The plaintiff was granted a patent on this unique design in 2016.
The plaintiffs accused the defendants of having directly infringed several claims in the 2016 patent, especially regarding the incorporation of radiological facilities in the surgical center. Per plaintiff, review of the architectural designs of the Heart of Texas surgical suites as well as the advertisements that have been posted for the facility make the infringement obvious. The Plaintiffs also note that there has been no response to the official notice, prompting this suit.
The plaintiffs are suing for direct infringement and are seeking a directed license of the patent as well as monetary damages. They are represented by the firm of Scheef & Stone.