Lunar and Stanford file suit against Norland

Bone densitometry firm Lunar of Madison, WI, announced this month that it and Stanford University have filed suit against Norland and its parent, Norland Medical Systems, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The suit claims that White Plains, NY-based Norland is infringing on a patent held by Stanford and licensed to Lunar. Issued in 1987, the patent covers scanned x-ray selective imaging systems, according to Lunar executives.

Lunar has also filed suit against International Medical Research Ottawa (IMRO) of Montreal. The suit claims that IMRO has infringed on Lunar’s Canadian patent for ultrasound bone measurement technology with some of its products, including its ultrasound bone measurement scanner Paris. Norland distributes these products in countries outside Canada (SCAN 9/17/97).

Norland claimed that the suit filed by Lunar is without merit. The firm also said that IMROhas denied that its ultrasound product infringes Lunar’s Canadian patent.