Two
doctors are suing the Government after alleging that the Ministry of Defence
(Mindef) knowingly infringed their intellectual property by coming up with a
mobile casualty station which they claim to have designed and patented.
Dr Mak Koon Hou, a 50-year-old cardiologist,
and Dr Ting Choon Meng, a 52-year-old general practitioner who is chairman and
chief executive of medical devices company HealthStats International, claim
that Mindef's mobile clinic infringes on their patent of a "mobile first
aid post" in idea and design specifications.
Mindef has denied the allegations and is
claiming that the doctors' patent is not valid as the mobile clinic is not new,
involved "no inventive step" and was "not capable of industrial
application".
The Straits Times reported that the doctors
started work on the "Station With Immediate First-Aid Treatment", or
Swift, medical station after the Sept 11, 2011 terrorists attacks in the United
States.
They obtained local and international patents
in 2005.
The 10-tonne truck opens up to become a
resuscitation area equipped with surgical devices and lights, a suction system
for removing blood, fluids and debris, and emergency life-saving devices.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force started
using the vehicles in 2004 as it wanted a movable facility to stabilise
casualties, prioritise treatment for victims and send them to the right place
for treatment.
The doctors said SCDF paid them royalties for
using their invention, which they say won praises from the United States Army
and Singapore Technologies Kinetics.
Later, they formed MobileStats Technologies to
market their mobile medical station.
MobileStats Technologies has issued a writ of
summons against Mindef for infringing its Singapore patent. They are seeking
damages and costs among other things.
Dr Ting told a local news source that they
felt suing was the only way and that respect for intellectual property is very
important.
The doctors also claim that they discussed the
mobile station with officials over several meetings after Mindef approached
them some years ago. However, nothing came out of it.
They told the Straits Times that they knew of
Mindef's mobile casualty station after Mindef highlighted it in the run-up to
National Day Parade in 2011 to improve its emergency response capabilities.
According to the English daily, Mindef's
version has a ventilator, improved medical dressings to stop bleeding and an
on-board water tank to wash wounds.
It can be sent to any emergency spot and be
transformed into a medical clinic within 15 minutes. It can also treat up to
200 people for a variety of injuries.
When contacted, Mindef told The Straits Times
that it is inappropriate for the ministry to make any statement as the court
case is ongoing.
AsiaOne
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