A U.K. court has ruled against Abbott in a trademark infringement case the company had brought over the design of a rival Chinese diabetes device maker’s continuous glucose monitor.
Abbott had claimed that the shape of Sinocare’s iCan i3 wearable CGM was too similar to its own FreeStyle Libre sensor—in this case, the small, white disc placed on the upper arm.
Sinocare first launched its CGM system in China in 2023 and since then has expanded into the U.K. and Europe. The company obtained a CE mark last month opening up the latest iCan’s use to children with diabetes as young as 2 years old and last December inked a distribution deal with Italy’s A. Menarini Diagnostics to enter 20 jurisdictions on the continent.
In its claims filed with the U.K. High Court of Justice’s chancery division, Abbott said Sinocare’s similarity could cause customers to confuse or associate the two devices—especially when the two were placed among other CGMs, such as the more-oblong Dexcom G7, or the mushroom-shaped Guardian system from Medtronic.
Sinocare countered by saying the FreeStyle Libre’s 3D design, with its simple circular shape, lacked distinguishing character—and that the form of the device was unnecessary to the sensor’s technical ability to read blood sugar levels.
The U.K. court agreed Feb. 7, saying the non-distinctive shape could not be trademarked. In addition, the judgment (PDF) said that healthcare providers and people with diabetes would be intimately familiar with the differences between CGM systems and would not rely on the shape of the sensors when making a prescription.
Abbott had voluntarily surrendered the trademark at the EU’s Intellectual Property Office in early January, following oral arguments in the U.K. as well as a similar ruling by an Austrian court.
“Each of these decisions marks a significant victory for innovation and fair competition in the medical technology industry, affirming that product designs based on technical functionality cannot be monopolized through trademark protection,” Sinocare said in a statement. “The judgments also reinforce the importance of consumer choice in diabetes care, ensuring that advanced CGM solutions remain accessible to users across the UK and beyond.”