Medical device company Align Technology will terminate its interoperability contract with 3Shape as of January 17, 2018.
The termination means Align will not accept digital scan submissions for Invisalign cases from dental practices who use 3Shape's Trios scanners in the U.S., according to Align.
Six patent infringement lawsuits were filed by Align against 3Shape on November 14. These lawsuits assert that 3Shape's Trios intraoral scanning system and dental system software infringe Align patents.
It would be "inconsistent for Align to continue to accept scans created by an infringing process," Align said in statement to DrBicuspid.com.
3Shape stated that interoperability "has absolutely no legal link to the patent infringement allegations against 3Shape" in a press release.
