Published in Legal

Sight Sciences wins patent lawsuits against Alcon and Ivantis

This is editorially independent content
2 min read

Sight Sciences, Inc. has won four separate patent invalidity challenges filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office against Alcon Inc, and Ivantis, Inc.

I need some background.

Sight Sciences filed a lawsuit in September 2021 within the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Ivantis for selling the Hydrus Microstent.

The company alleged that the Ivantis had infringed on four U.S. patents that describe and claim devices/methods for reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye. Sight Sciences sought monetary damages and injunctive relief.

In August 2022, the lawsuit was amended to include Alcon (Alcon Inc, Alcon Vision, LLC; and Alcon Research, LLC) for allegedly infringing on their U.S. patent (No. 11,389,328).

How did Alcon and Ivantis respond?

The companies each filed petitions for inter partes review of the patent infringements and sought the invalidation of all four patents: Nos. 8,287,482, 9,370,443, 9,486,361, and 10,314,742 (IPR2022-01529, IPR2022-01530, IPR2022-01533, IPR2022-01540).

What did the court decide?

The U.S. Patent Office denied Alcon and Ivantis all four patents’ petitions on March 21, March 22, and March 27, 2023, determining that a review seeking to evaluate the invalidity challenges was unwarranted.

Tell me more.

The Patent Office concluded that its examination of Sight Sciences’ patents had already shown the same or substantially the same art, and that both companies had failed to show proof that the Patent Office’s examiner had made a material error when considering the prior art.

What does this mean?

The Patent Office’s rejections of the petitions filed by Alcon and Ivantis are final; the companies are not permitted to appeal the verdict.

Now what?

A jury trial is scheduled for April 8, 2024, within the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware. The trial will cover Sight Sciences’ patent infringement claims against Alcon and Ivantis, and is expected to last five days.