Butterfly Network, a digital health company developing handheld, whole-body ultrasound solutions, filed a motion to dismiss claims and specific patents from a complaint for patent infringement lawsuit filed on March 9, 2022, by Fujifilm Sonosite.
Butterfly believes the lawsuit alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,169,108; 7,867,168; 8,128,050; 8,861,822; 9,538,985; 6,901,157; and 8,360,981, lacks merit and is meant to distract from Fujifilm Sonosite’s failure to innovate and keep pace with Butterfly’s next generation clinical assessment platform, the company says.
Butterfly is shifting the healthcare industry from using ultrasound in limited traditional settings, to using ultrasound information in all care settings, for any patient at any time. The company’s solutions include Butterfly iQ and iQ+, a handheld, single probe whole-body ultrasound system using semiconductor technology that is aimed at transforming point-of-care ultrasound into an advanced clinical assessment tool, by making it intuitive, adoptable at scale, extremely portable, and economically appealing.
Butterfly says it will vigorously defend against Fujifilm Sonosite’s accusations. In defending against this lawsuit, Butterfly will consider all means necessary and appropriate to eliminate obstacles to its mission to enable more informed clinical decisions for all patients worldwide.
Butterfly’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Larry Weiss says: “We’re disappointed that FUJIFILM Sonosite chose this approach. We believe this litigation is an attempt by Fujifilm Sonosite Inc. to distract from its failure to innovate and keep pace with Butterfly’s next generation clinical assessment platform. Our state of the art technology is the result of years of innovation, and is evidenced by our more than 800 patents and applications. We will continue to vigorously protect both our innovations and our intellectual property.”
