BOTHELL – The U.S. Court of Appeals handed SonoSite Inc. another victory in a fight over patented ultrasound technology, potentially ending a five-year battle with a Texas inventor.
The court affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment in favor of SonoSite against Neutrino Development Corp., which claimed that SonoSite’s hand-carried ultrasound machines infringed on its patent.
“Once again, the judicial system has vindicated our position that our products do not infringe Neutrino’s patent. We are very pleased that this litigation is at its end after five and one-half years,” Kevin Goodwin, the Bothell-based company’s president and chief executive, said in a written statement.
SonoSite didn’t become ensnared in litigation over its intellectual property until 2001, but the case’s roots date to 1997.
That’s when Richard Redano, a Texas inventor and intellectual property lawyer, applied to patent a device that could stimulate and monitor blood flow in the body. He saw it as a potential tool against erectile dysfunction.
Redano’s patent was granted in 2001. His company, Neutrino, then sued SonoSite, claiming all of its portable ultrasound models infringed on the patent. Neutrino also filed lawsuits in two other states against SonoSite distributors.
In September 2004, the court made a summary ruling that SonoSite had infringed on Neutrino’s patent. The two sides were ordered into mediation, and a jury trial was scheduled.
For SonoSite, the consequences of losing would be huge. Last year, revenue from sales of its ultrasound devices exceeded $147 million.
But the company and its attorneys saw a reversal of fortune against Neutrino in March, when the U.S. District Court in Texas granted SonoSite’s motion for a summary judgment that dismissed Neutrino’s claims.
The court found that Neutrino had improperly amended its patent application to include a claim that covered a hand-held component. That amendment was not in the original patent application filed in 1999.
William Norvell, the attorney for Redano and Neutrino, immediately appealed to the Federal Circuit, a specialized appellate court that hears patent appeals. The three-judge appellate panel that heard oral arguments from the two sides was unanimous in its decision this week, according to SonoSite.
When asked for comment, Redano referred calls to his attorney. Norvell couldn’t be reached Thursday.
SonoSite has spent millions of dollars on its defense. But with the appellate win, SonoSite now expects the district court to rule on its pending motion to recover legal costs from Redano and his company.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
