Stryker sues DePuy, Wright and Zimmer over hip implant patent (MassDevice)
Stryker Corp. files a trio of lawsuits against rivals DePuy Orthopaedics, Wright Medical and Zimmer Holdings, accusing them of trespassing on its patent for a hip implant component.
Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) sued a trio of rivals last week, alleging that they infringe one of its patents covering a hip implant component.
The Kalamazoo, Mich.-based orthopedics giant leveled the suits against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics, Wright Medical Group (NSDQ:WMGI) and Zimmer Holdings (NYSE:ZMH). The lawsuits allege that all three companies violate a Stryker patent for “Acetabular Cup Assembly With Selected Bearing,” according to court documents.
The component, an acetabular cup “featuring a dual-locking mechanism and capable of accommodating a plurality of bearings with different characteristics,” has allowed Stryker to achieve “significant commercial success,” according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey.
The allegedly infringing devices are DePuy’s Pinnacle and Duraloc acetabular cup systems; Wright’s Lineage and its Dynasty systems; and Zimmer’s Continuum system.
All of those devices allegedly contain the dual-locking mechanism claimed in the Stryker patent, are capable of accommodating one of a plurality of bearing members, and infringe the patent via “other aspects,” according to the documents.
Stryker wants a jury trial in each case, as well as findings of infringement, injunctions barring further infringement and damages.