Align Technology Prevails in U.S. Patent Office Proceedings Initiated by ClearCorrect

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) today announced that it has prevailed in proceedings initiated by ClearCorrect Operating LLC before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) that challenged the validity of three of Align’s U.S. patents.
Last week, the USPTO issued reexamination certificates confirming the patentability of all challenged claims of Align’s U.S. Patent Nos. 6,217,325, 6,722,880, and 8,070,487. Align was not required to amend or alter any of the challenged patent claims — they were all confirmed based on the existing claim language. The confirmed patents include two of the patents (the ‘325 and ‘880 patents) that Align is asserting in its patent infringement lawsuit against ClearCorrect pending in the Southern District of Texas. These same two patents previously emerged from a prior reexamination proceeding a decade ago and were also found valid in the recent ITC proceedings against ClearCorrect. Thus, the current reexamination decision marks the third time Align successfully defended these patents. ClearCorrect responded to its latest defeat this week by filing two more reexamination requests regarding the same ‘325 patent that was just confirmed by the USPTO last week.
“These reexaminations have now ended with Align prevailing on every claim of every challenged patent. ClearCorrect’s previous attempts to challenge the validity of Align patents — at trial before the International Trade Commission — also resulted in the rejection of all of ClearCorrect’s invalidity contentions and a finding of validity of all of the asserted patents. Align’s confidence in the validity of its patent portfolio continues to be borne out by the positive rulings of neutral decision makers like the USPTO and the ITC,” said Roger E. George, Align Technology vice president and general counsel.
About Align Technology, Inc.
Align Technology is the leader in modern Clear Aligner orthodontics that designs, manufactures and markets the Invisalign® system, which provides dental professionals with a range of treatment options for adults and teenagers. Align also offers the iTero 3D digital scanning system and services for orthodontic and restorative dentistry. Align was founded in March 1997 and received FDA clearance to market the Invisalign system in 1998. Visit www.aligntech.com for more information.
For additional information about the Invisalign system or to find an Invisalign provider in your area, please visit www.invisalign.com. For additional information about the iTero 3D digital scanning system, please visit www.itero.com.