Hologic wins mammography patent infringement case against Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers was just dealt a legal blow overseas, as the European Unified Patent Court has ruled that the vendor is guilty of copyright infringement.
At the center of the case is the company’s Mammomat B.brilliant breast tomosynthesis system, specifically, its “Flying Focal Spot” technology. This enables the static focus spot to move in the opposite direction in the tube during an exposure, which in turn produces sharper, more detailed images.
Hologic claims it is responsible for creating this technology. The company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Siemens Healthineers in 2024, alleging its competitor had profited from the technology. Siemens defended its claim to the technology to no avail, as Europe’s patent court ruled in Hologic’s favor last week.
The ruling states that Siemens Healthineers must remove all of its Mammomat B.brilliant mammo systems from the market in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Siemens also has been ordered to destroy all of the remaining unsold systems in those countries and will be required to hand over all sales records relative to the units dating August 2018; these records are to include detailed data on the profits Siemens earned from selling the affected products.
Siemens has 60 days to comply with or appeal the decision. After that, if no action is taken, the company could be subject to fines of approximately $11,500 (USD) per day spent not in compliance.
A detailed summary of the case can be viewed here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.