BOTHELL – General Electric Co. alleges in a new lawsuit that ultrasound technology made by locally based SonoSite Inc. infringes on five patents.
SonoSite disclosed the lawsuit in a regulatory filing Thursday. GE filed the federal district court lawsuit in Madison, Wis., where GE’s health care division is located. That court also has ranked high in studies of the most favorable places for companies to win patent lawsuits.
Mike Schuh, SonoSite’s chief financial officer, said executives at the Bothell-based company have seen the filing but haven’t been officially served with the lawsuit.
GE, which is the world’s largest maker of medical-imaging equipment, seeks unspecified monetary damages and an injunction to keep SonoSite from selling devices that allegedly infringe on the patents. Those include the Titan and MicroMaxx, SonoSite’s two biggest sellers, GE claims.
SonoSite told investors it is “currently analyzing the validity of these allegations.” The company’s shares fell by $1.24, or 4 percent, Thursday to close trading at $29.76.
This isn’t the first time SonoSite has tangled with other companies over patents. Earlier this year, it filed an infringement lawsuit against Zonare Medical Systems Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., which also makes compact ultrasound machines. SonoSite alleges one of its crucial patents covers portable devices weighing less than 10 pounds. Zonare has countersued, and the case is pending.
In the marketplace, SonoSite and GE have directly competed with hand-carried ultrasound models since 2002, when GE unveiled its device. But SonoSite had a head start in sales and retains that to this day.
“We clearly lead in terms of the number of systems we have out there,” Schuh said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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