After a federal district court ruled in its favor, BriteSmile, Inc. will proceed with a patent infringement lawsuit against Discus Dental, the tooth-whitening company announced in a May 19 press release.

“We believe, based on the recent ruling from Judge White, that BriteSmile has valid patents that are being infringed by Discus. We look forward to the next steps of completing our discovery and bringing our proof to a jury,” says Nhat Ngo, executive vice president and general counsel for BriteSmile.

BriteSmile interpreted the San Francisco court’s ruling as a “definitive legal pronouncement” that three of its patents are being infringed by the sale and use of Discus Dental’s Zoom!, Nite White, Day White, and Excel products. BriteSmile says the company plans to seek a summary judgment ruling in its favor, so as to avoid a trial.

In 2002, BriteSmile filed suit, charging Discus Dental with unfair business practices and tortious interference under California state law, including targeting dentists with illusory and illegal marketing incentives. A second suit against Discus followed shortly thereafter, seeking an injunction and damages for infringement of BriteSmile patents involving light-activated tooth-whitening technology and a two-component whitening gel.

Discus Dental responded in a June 2002 press release, stating that “it is not appropriate for BriteSmile to bind dentists to a single treatment choice.” Disputing the allegations, Discus called BriteSmile’s legal action “an attempt to interfere with dentists’ freedom to provide patients with all available treatment options.”

BriteSmile amended its complaint in 2003 by adding Salim Nathoo, BriteSmile’s former medical director, as a defendant. BriteSmile charged that Discus paid Nathoo $2.5 million for “consulting” services, which included allegedly divulging BriteSmile's trade secrets.

--By Kristen Romanowski