Minneapolis (2/2/2009) - Spectralytics, Inc. was awarded a $22.35 million verdict today, after a three-week patent infringement trial against Cordis Corporation, and its supplier, Norman Noble, Inc.
The patent infringement case involved machinery developed and patented by Spectralytics. The equipment is used to make stents, a medical device used to unclog human arteries.
Spectralytics headquartered in Dassel, Minnesota developed the stents manufacturing equipment in 1995, and received the patent in 1998. In 2004, Spectralytics became suspicious of patent infringement by Cordis Corporation and Norman Noble, and wrote to Cordis offering a license under the patent. Cordis did not accept a license, but continued to use the infringing machinery to manufacture the medical device.
Spectralytics filed suit in 2005, and the case went to trial in January 2009. The jury found that both Cordis Corporation and Norman Noble both willfully infringed on the Spectralytics patent.
Cordis Corporation is owned by Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, NJ, which is a large manufacturer and seller of health-related products. Norman Noble is a precision tooling company based out of Cleveland, OH.
Alan G. Carlson, Matthew J. Goggin, Dennis C. Bremer, and Russell J. Rigby of CCVL represented Spectralytics in the trial.
