Stryker Corp. v. Zimmer, Inc., No. 13-1668 (Fed. Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseStryker’s patents concern pulsed lavage devices that deliver pressurized irrigation for medical therapies, including cleaning wounds. In 1993 Stryker applied for the patents and began to market portable, battery powered, handheld devices. They include suction and discharge tubes. Older systems required a central power source and external mechanical pumps and needed to be wheeled around the hospital. The patents issued in 2000, 2001 and 2006. Zimmer introduced its first portable pulsed lavage device in 1996; its Pulsavac Plus achieved $55 million in annual sales in 2007. Stryker sued Zimmer. The district court found infringement of two patents. The jury found infringement of one claim 2 of the third patent; that all the asserted claims were valid; that Zimmer had willfully infringed all three patents; and that Stryker had marked substantially all of its products that commercially embodied the patents during the period it sought damages, under 35 U.S.C. 287(a). The court awarded $70 million in lost profits plus attorneys’ fees, and imposed an injunction. The Federal Circuit affirmed that the patents were valid and infringed, and the award of damages, but reversed the judgment that infringement was willful and vacated the award of treble damages and award of attorneys’ fees.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on March 23, 2015.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on March 23, 2015.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on September 12, 2016.
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