A mere four days after U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker issued a claim construction memorandum and order in the case of Stryker Corp. v. Zimmer Inc., Zimmer Holdings was told to pay $70 million to Stryker Corp. for infringing patents related to a device that removes damaged tissue and cleans bones during joint-replacement surgery.
Stryker sued Zimmer in December 2010, claiming its patents were infringed by Zimmer’s Pulsavac Plus wound debridement system. Zimmer’s Pulsavac Plus and Stryker’s competing Surgilav and InterPulse machines are devices that use pulsing liquid to loosen debris from a surgical site and remove it by suction. The process allows doctors to see better during orthopedic surgery.
Yesterday, a federal jury in Stryker’s hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, said Zimmer willfully infringed three of Stryker’s patents. The jury also found that a 25 percent royalty rate should apply to sales of infringing Zimmer products. In light of the jury’s finding that Zimmer’s infringement was willful, Judge Jonker can increase the award.
A spokesman for Zimmer, Garry Clark, said that “Zimmer is disappointed with the verdict and plans to pursue all available post-trial relief including an appeal in due course.”