Penile Implant Trade Secrets Trial Starts with Ryan Baker and Scott Malzahn as Lead Defense Counsel

In his opening statement, Partner Ryan Baker told a Los Angeles federal jury on Wednesday, June 7 that said the theft of the first FDA-cleared cosmetic penile implant was sloppy, reported Law360

Waymaker client Urologist Dr. James Elist testified as the first witness in a trial based on claims he filed against Dr. Robert Cornell, who, Dr. Elist says, received specialized training under terms of a nondisclosure agreement about how to surgically implant Elist’s “Penuma” penile device. During that training, Dr. Cornell asked numerous questions about the implant and planned future improvements, said Baker.

Elist says Cornell violated the agreement by developing a rival device and revealing Elist’s closely guarded secrets by filing a patent application based on Elist’s work. The theft was sloppy, Baker said, because Cornell’s patent application included a copyrighted graphic of a penis with Penuma implanted on it. “All of this was a pattern to take [Elist’s] business and build his own.”

The Penuma device developed by Elist is designed to create cosmetic improvements to the male genitalia by making it larger or fixing deformities.

Attorney Weining Bai, who represents Cornell and other defendants, denied any misappropriation occurred, although he admitted copyright infringement and that Cornell described himself as a Penuma specialist on his website, using the registered Penuma trademark without authorization.

The case is International Medical Devices Inc. et al. v. Robert Cornell et al., case number 2:20-cv-03503, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.