IRVINE, Calif. – May 21, 2013 – Keating Dental Arts (KDA), a full-service laboratory committed to providing the very best in quality, technology, education and service to dentists around the world, today announced that it has prevailed in a two-year trademark dispute brought against KDA by Glidewell Laboratories. In 2011, Glidewell industries sued KDA over its use of the name “KDZ Bruxer,” which Glidewell claimed was an infringement on its “BruxZir” product name. On March 7, 2013 a judge ruled that there was no trademark infringement.
“The lawsuit came as a shock due in large part to the frequent use of the common dental term, bruxer or bruxism, which refers to tooth clenching and grinding,” said Shaun Keating, founder of Keating Dental Arts. “We were lucky to have the resources to fight this battle. The lawsuit was a scary and expensive battle for a lab of our size. We felt we had to fight it, not just for us, but for other small labs out there. Now anyone can use the name.”
Despite the financial impact of the lawsuit, KDA is poised for growth. What began as a small family owned lab 10 years ago has grown to more than 100 employees today. With the lawsuit behind them, the company has recently invested in the advanced training and equipment needed to support its continued expansion. A key pillar of this growth will be the continued support of its loyal customers – many of whom are seeing their own businesses under threat due to the sluggish economy.
“Dentists throughout the nation have seen their business decline about 20-30 percent, so we’ve made a concerted effort to advance problem solve and work closely with our customers on treatment planning so that the patient’s experience is the best it can possibly be,” Keating said. “We’ve always known that we can’t beat the large labs on price so we have chosen a path to ‘out service’ everyone. I am both honored and humbled that our commitment to service has become our hallmark.”