News on the MMRGlobal patent keeps coming. Early in the week we had these.
NEHTA shrugs off health records patent threat
Low take-up of health records more concerning.
The body responsible for the Australian Government's electronic health records system has paid little attention to threats made by a US firm claiming that the PCEHR violates its patents.
The chief executive of the National E-Health Transmission Authority (NEHTA), Peter Fleming said he had not contacted the Health Department over the patent claim, hearing about it first via a newspaper article.
US-based MMRGlobal issued a news release last week claiming that NEHTA was infringing on its patents (including Australian patent numbers 2006202057 and 2008202401) and other Intellectual Property (collectively, the "MMRIP") issued to MyMedicalRecords.com, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of MMRGlobal.
MMRGlobal claimed PCEHR "appeared to incorporate numerous portions" of the MMR intellectual property.
Fleming informed the Senate Estimates Committee that MMRGlobal had never contacted NEHTA and had “nothing solid”.
“We have looked at their patents from an architectural and legal perspective and briefed our lawyers to investigate,” Fleming said. “They are working with NEHTA’s architects at the moment."
…..
In late November 2012 ,MMRG had reportedly signed license agreements worth more than $USD30 million, disputing it was a “patent troll”.
Lots more details are provided here as well as on adoption.
MyMedicalRrecords.com to reveal result of patent breach probe
- by: Fran Foo
- From: The Australian
- February 12, 2013
A US software firm hopes to conclude investigations into a possible infringement of its patents by the National E-Health Transition Authority in less than three weeks.
MyMedicalRecords.com, a subsidiary of MMRGlobal, flagged the investigation last week, claiming that "both state and federal governments in Australia, through Nehta, appear to be infringing on patents and other intellectual property issued to MyMedicalRecords.com".
The Gillard government has developed a personally controlled e-health records system, an online, opt-in platform that stores an individual's health information. Nehta manages the PCEHR implementation process.
MMR claims that the PCEHR broadly incorporates numerous portions of the company's intellectual property, which includes two patents in Australia.
The patents cover a method for providing a consumer with the ability to access and collect health records.
MMR chief executive Robert Lorsch, who is based in Los Angeles, said the company hopes to conclude its investigations "no later than the end of this month".
According to patent documents filed by Melbourne's Davies Collison Cove patent and trademark lawyers several years ago, the method includes assigning a destination address individually associated with a consumer account for receiving communications from at least one healthcare provider.
The patents also cover "associating access information with the consumer account for the consumer to use to access a secure website".
Lots more here:
Since then Fran Foo at The Australian has come out with even more.
Twist in e-health patent claim
- by: Fran Foo
- From: The Australian
- February 19, 2013
MELBOURNE law firm Davies Collison Cave has dropped MMRGlobal as a client just days after the latter said it was investigating alleged patent infringements by the National E-Health Transition Authority.
Robert Lorsch, the Los Angeles-based MMRGlobal chief executive, claims Davies Collison Cave told him that his company would have to be dropped from the client roster due to a "conflict".
"We used Davies Collison Cove (for patents) and one of the reasons that they're not involved right now is they have a conflict because they're also representing the government," Mr Lorsch told The Australian.
MyMedicalRecords.com, a subsidiary of MMRGlobal, claimed that "both state and federal governments in Australia, through NEHTA, appear to be infringing on patents and other intellectual property issued to MyMedicalRecords.com".
More here:
and even more interesting.
NEHTA contacts US firm over patent breach allegations
- by: Fran Foo
- From: The Australian
- February 20, 2013
THE National E-Health Transition Authority has reached out to the US e-health software firm investigating it over patent infringement allegations.
According to MMRGlobal chief executive Robert Lorsch, lawyers from NEHTA had contacted the firm to discuss the matter.
"The company has spoken with an attorney for NEHTA," Mr Lorsch told The Australian.
"MMR suggested entering into an agreement to exchange documents to facilitate an informal resolution to this matter for the benefit of all parties.
"MMR also suggested that all relevant parties schedule a meeting at the HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) conference on March 3 in New Orleans in a good faith effort to get this resolved," he said.
More here:
So we now know NEHTA is taking all this seriously and we also know that my earlier prediction that this might have a way to go seems to be playing out.
I still have the feeling we have not heard the last of all this at all.
David.