Copan Italia SpA Loses Another Patent Case, This Time in Washington, D.C.

Guilford, ME — Today, Puritan Medical Products—the world’s most trusted manufacturer of swabs—is pleased that, yet again, the integrity of patent law was upheld by another legal defeat for Copan Italia SpA, this time at the International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C. In the case, Copan initially accused rival Chinese swab makers of infringing its patents, only for the Italian company’s claims to be rebutted by an ITC judge.

Copan’s latest defeat is yet another testament to the company’s failed patent campaign. In June 2020, Labfab (a distributor of Puritan’s swabs) handed Copan a defeat in Sweden, successfully denying the company’s infringement claims and even earning legal fees for its efforts. Later that year, in November 2020, Puritan similarly defeated the Italian competitor in a string of German lawsuits and appeals, also earning legal fees.

In losing its trial to Chinese competitors at the ITC, Copan has yet to win any of its five patent infringement cases adjudicated to date. According to ITC Administrative Law Judge Monica Bhattacharyya, Copan not only failed to prove infringement against the Chinese companies, but the Italian swab maker also failed to demonstrate that its swabs practice the company’s own patents. Despite asserting a family of patents in the United States and Europe, Copan has won no lawsuits as a result.

“The Puritan team is proud that the ITC decision is another example where good-faith business practices rule the day in the court of law,” said Bob Shultz, President and CFO at Puritan. “In our life-saving industry, there is no place for baseless accusations, especially when so many people around the world rely on us to provide critical swabs. Looking ahead, Puritan will continue going about swab production the right way and ignoring potential distractions, innovating like we’ve continued to do for over a century.”

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