Zimmer ordered to pay Stryker $210 million over patents (Reuters)
A federal judge ordered Zimmer Holdings Inc to pay Stryker Corp $210 million for infringing its surgical irrigation patents, tripling an award by a jury that found Zimmer's conduct was willful.
U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids, Michigan, also issued a permanent injunction banning Zimmer from selling infringing products, including from its Pulsavac Plus line.
Zimmer said it plans to appeal Wednesday's decision.
Stryker (download 4-page analysis of Stryker HERE) and Zimmer are large producers of orthopedic pulsed lavage devices, a combination spray gun and suction tube that is used to clean wounds and tissue during surgery.
In a 2010 lawsuit, Stryker contended that Pulsavac Plus lavage devices infringed three of its patents and caused it to lose market share.
A jury in February awarded Stryker $70 million of damages representing lost profits, and found that Zimmer's infringing conduct was willful.
Zimmer tried to have the award thrown out.
But Jonker said there was substantial evidence to support the jury's finding, including testimony that Zimmer "all but instructed" its design team to copy Stryker's ...
