SmileDirectClub Loses Ruling on Patent for Its Smileshop

(Bloomberg) -- SmileDirectClubInc. lost its lawsuit against Candid Care Co. after a federal judge in Delaware said a patent on its business model is invalid and dismissed the case.

SmileDirectClub’s idea is for the “abstract idea of having patients arrange for and receive dental aligners without ever seeing a dentist or orthodontist in person” but lacks the inventive steps that would make it eligible for patent protection, U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled.

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