Hensler's Patent Infringement Suit against Tobra's Bone Basket to Resume Following Tobra's Unsuccessful Patent Invalidity Bid

WILMINGTON, N.C., April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hensler Surgical Products, LLC, dba Hensler Surgical Technologies, has prevailed over Tobra Medical in Tobra's attempt to invalidate Hensler's U.S. Patent No. 10,493,183.  The Hensler patent is the basis for a patent infringement suit filed against Tobra in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in December 2019.  Because Tobra challenged the validity of Hensler's patent, the Federal patent infringement lawsuit was placed on hold, pending the outcome of Tobra's challenge.  But the United States Patent Office almost completely refuted Tobra's arguments, clearing the way for Hensler's action against Tobra to resume.  At the heart of the infringement allegation is the Tobra Medical Bone Basket used for collecting and filtering autologous bone during surgical procedures.

The Complaint alleges that Bradford Collins, founder and President of Tobra, contacted Hensler in early 2017 and expressed interest in being a sales representative for Hensler.  In the near future from that communication, Tobra introduced the Tobra Medical Bone Basket as a cheaper substitute for the Hensler Bone Press® apparatus.  The Complaint cites examples of the technical inferiority of the Tobra Medical Bone Basket to the Hensler Bone Press® apparatus, and also includes accusations of false and misleading statements being made by Collins and Tobra regarding the effectiveness of the Tobra Medical Bone Basket. 

In addition to patent infringement contentions, Tobra also stands accused of False Advertising, and Interference with Economic Advantage under North Carolina law.  Hensler seeks damages in an unspecified amount, in addition to a permanent injunction preventing Tobra and others from infringing the '183 Patent using the Tobra Medical Bone Basket.  

About Hensler Surgical 

Founded in 2012 by friends and colleagues Sean Hensler, PA-C (neurosurgery) and Dr. Thomas E. Melin (neurosurgeon), Hensler Surgical Products, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of S & T Holdings, LLC, which also owns H & M Innovations, LLC, a sister company to Hensler Surgical Products, LLC.

Hensler Surgical Products, LLC develops, markets, and sells medical instruments and apparatus while H & M Innovations, LLC identifies and develops intellectual property relating to medical-device innovations. This family of companies holds twenty-one U.S. patents and currently has 13 U.S. patent applications pending, not including numerous foreign patents and patent applications in Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Oceania. Nine U.S. patents relate to the Hensler Bone Presstm apparatus, with priority coverage in five foreign countries.

SOURCE Hensler Surgical Technologies