Covidien announced that the US District Court for the District of Connecticut has granted a preliminary injunction against Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company.
This injunction results from a lawsuit filed by Covidien in June 2014 that alleges Ethicon’s latest ultrasonic surgical product, the Harmonic ACE+7, infringes three Covidien patents. The injunction prevents Ethicon from manufacturing, marketing and selling the Harmonic ACE+7.
"Covidien operates within a highly competitive global health care environment. We are pleased that the court has recognized the value of our intellectual property. As demonstrated by our actions, we will vigorously protect our innovative products, solutions and intellectual property," said Chris Barry, president, Advanced Surgical, Covidien.
The June 2014 lawsuit contends that US Patents 6,063,050; 6,468,286; and 6,682,544 are infringed by Ethicon’s Harmonic Shears ACE+7.
Ethicon’s Harmonic devices were found to infringe the same patents in a prior suit in the same court that resulted in a damages award against Ethicon of more than $175 million, a finding that is currently under appeal.
Covidien is a global health care leader that understands the challenges faced by providers and their patients and works to address them with innovative medical technology solutions and patient care products.