Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq., USPTO Reg. No. 53,125
412.594.3915
MMRGlobal is targeting the healthcare entities that have an electronic health record system with claims that its "foundational patents" limit the entities’ ability to communicate protected health information without potentially infringing its patents. Through its outside counsel, it has begun sending 250 letters to entities per week according to this press release: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=178404&p=irol-newsArticle&. These entities include hospitals, medical groups, pharmacies, and other healthcare professionals. The objective of these letters is to license their intellectual property rights (for a fee).
On another front, Innovatio IP Ventures, LLC claims to own patents on Wi-Fi technology. Various healthcare entities such as hospitals have received a letter demanding the payment of a licensing fee.
Some recipients of such letters will undoubtedly comply with the demands of the letter (such as payment of a licensing fee) to avoid trouble. However, still others ask if the patent owner has the right to do this. A patent owner does have the right to enforce its patented technology (so long as the patents are still in force). But, if you receive one of these letters, you can investigate whether the claims have any merit and formulate a response. You may want to retain the assistance of qualified patent counsel in formulating potential strategies and defenses.
