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October 13, 2004

Jury Orders Medtronic To Pay $400M Punitive Damages In Patent Suit

According to IP Law Bulletin, "A jury in Tennessee has ordered a subsidiary of medical device maker Medtronic to pay $400 million in punitive damages to the doctor who invented some of its spinal fusion technologies, bringing the total value of the verdict in the patent infringement lawsuit to more than $1 billion by some estimates."

Before punitive damages were considered, compensatory damages were already $110M.  Medtronic was also ordered to pay a 10% royalty on gross revenue from infringement.

The doctor/inventor was seeking $1.7 billion in compensatory damages alone.  While $110M in compensatory damages doesn't quite reach this figure, the royalties could be $470M.  Add that to the compensatory damages, and the punitives, and the total award comes to almost $1 billion.

Of course, this isn't money in the bank.  The company stated "MSD intends to pursue all appropriate post-trial remedies, including exercising its right to appeal, and believes its position will ultimately be vindicated."

Update: 10-14-2004  IP law bulletin reports Medtronic was hit again this week.  This time with an injunction.  A federal judge ordered Medtronic to stop selling screws used with some spinal implants because they infringe another patent.

Posted by at 08:54 AM.
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