Invalidity dossier
US 3630200
Ocular insert
Current assignee: Alza Corp
Added 9/23/2026, 8:48:30 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 3,630,200 ("Ocular insert")
Bibliographic data (as supplied): US Patent 3,630,200; application US831481A; inventor Takeru Higuchi; original assignee and current assignee Alza Corp; priority/filing date 1969-06-09; granted and published 1971-12-28; status "Expired – Lifetime," anticipated expiration 1988-12-28. Classifications include A61K9/0051 (ocular inserts or implants) and A61F9/0017 (ocular inserts implantable in or in contact with the eye).
Purpose: The invention relates to an ocular insert for dispensing drugs to the eye with improved compatibility with the eye and surrounding tissues. It builds on US Pat. No. 3,416,530 (granted Dec. 17, 1968, same assignee), which described a drug-dispensing ocular insert acting as a depot or reservoir that slowly releases drug over prolonged periods.
Plain-language scope: The insert is a flexible body placed in the cul-de-sac of the conjunctiva between the sclera and the lid, preferably under the lower lid (avoiding possible discomfort from Bell's Phenomenon under the upper lid). It has two parts: an inner core containing the drug and having an affinity for it, and a soft, hydrophilic outer layer. The core may be a matrix with drug dispersed through it or a hollow capsule with drug in an interior chamber; it may also be discrete particles or hollow capsules. The core may be a hydrophobic polymer (e.g., polyvinylchloride, plasticized nylon, silicone rubber, polyethylene) or a hydrophilic polymer. The outer layer is soft, flexible, hydrophilic, insoluble in tear liquid, and not substantially eroded or dissolved by tears, and should not significantly block drug passage. Drug leaves the core by diffusion or leaching by tear liquid, passes through the outer layer, and is carried to the eye. Example dimensions are 4 to millimeters in length, 1 to 12 mm in width, and 0.1 to 1 mm in thickness; typical drug amounts are 1 microgram to 1 milligram, with retention ordinarily about 24 hours.
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not give the full claims, the complete drug list, the omitted patent numbers for certain polymers, any drawings detail beyond FIGS. 1–2, or any legal conclusions.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:41:09 PM
Cases on file (0)
Specific litigation cases in our database that name US patent 3630200. The free-form analysis below may also discuss cases beyond this list.
No cases on file mention this patent. Upload a CSV or add a case manually in Admin → Manage litigation cases.
Litigation summary
Past and pending lawsuits — plaintiffs, defendants, jurisdictions, outcomes, and notable rulings.
Proceedings on file (0)
All PTAB activity →AIA trial proceedings (IPR / PGR / CBM) filed at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board against this patent. Sourced from the USPTO Open Data Portal and refreshed every six hours; each proceeding number deep-links to the PTAB E2E docket.
No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.
Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.