3Shape A/S v. Carestream Dental LLC, Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-01829-WMR (N.D. Ga. May 6, 2022)

Plaintiff 3Shape A/S filed suit against Defendant Carestream Dental, LLC for patent infringement in the Western District of Texas on October 26, 2021. The Complaint alleges that Defendant infringes U.S. Patent Nos. RE48,221, No. 10,695,151, and No. 11,076,146 and that Plaintiff owns all right and title to the asserted patents by way of assignment. The ʼ221 Patent is generally directed to hand-held, optical dental scanners that include a motion sensor to remotely control the display connected to the hand-held optical scanner. The ʼ151 Patent discloses methods and user interfaces for determining the shape of a patient’s tooth using a digital 3D representation of the tooth. The ʼ146 Patent discloses inventions related to a 3D scanner apparatus and method for optical 3D scanning of surfaces, including teeth and surrounding soft tissue in a patient’s oral cavity. The case was assigned to Judge Alan Albright.

On January 28, 2022, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for improper venue, or in the alternative, to transfer venue to the Northern District of Georgia arguing that Defendant does not reside in and has no regular or established place of business in the WDTX. Specifically, Defendant alleged that Plaintiff’s basis for venue in WDTX—the presence of certain independent dealers, national service providers, preferred labs, and remove employees—was insufficient because those entities are separate from Defendant and their activities cannot be imputed to Defendant. Before the Court ruled on Defendant’s motion, the parties filed a joint motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of Georgia on May 4, 2022. On May 6, 2022, Judge Albright granted Plaintiff and Defendants’ Joint Motion to Transfer Venue to the Northern District of Georgia. The case has been assigned to Judge Ray in the Northern District.