Align Technology has filed lawsuits alleging Angelalign’s clear aligner products infringe its patents, while Angelalign denies the claims and pledges a strong defense.
Align Technology has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Angelalign Technology, a Shanghai-based manufacturer of clear aligners. The lawsuits, filed in the United States, Europe, and China, allege that Angelalign’s products and associated software infringe on Align patents covering multilayer aligner materials, treatment planning, and aligner features. Align is seeking both injunctive relief and monetary damages.
Align’s Statement
“Align is a pioneer in orthodontics, investing over $300 million annually (and approximately $2 billion since 2001) in research and development. It’s an unrivalled level of investment that shows clearly our unwavering commitment to our customers and their patients. Our vision and passion for helping doctors transform the orthodontic industry from analog to digital through sustained investments fuels the company’s innovation and technological leadership and advances orthodontic care around the world,” said Julie Coletti, EVP, chief legal and regulatory officer.
“We welcome fair and innovative competition, but we will protect our own innovations when companies choose to infringe our years of hard work and investment instead of legitimately performing research and development of their own. The patents we are asserting represent important components of our broad intellectual property portfolio and reflect key innovations in clear aligner therapy,” Coletti said.
Angelalign’s Response
Angelalign has rejected the claims, calling them “frivolous and entirely without merit.”
“Angel has a rich heritage of clinically driven innovation during its 20-plus year history. Accusations by our competitor of patent violations are frivolous and entirely without merit,” said Rich Hirschland, Angel’s chief commercial officer and senior vice president. “Angel has invested heavily in patent compliance since our founding. We are confident that we will prevail in this case.”
Hirschland added that the lawsuits are not expected to affect Angelalign’s business. “We anticipate that our growth will not be materially affected by the lawsuits. We look forward to using the lawsuits to tell the Angel success story and help attract more customers to Angel around the world.”
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