ResMed buries the hatchet with China ’ s BMC Medical

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) and China’s BMC Medical agreed to bury the hatchet, saying last week that their agreement puts to bed all of the long-simmering litigation between the sleep apnea device makers. The patent infringement disputes date back at least to June 2013, when ResMed filed a lawsuit against BMC and its U.S. distributor, 3B Medical. That case involved patents covering continuous positive airway pressure devices, a nasal mask and a nasal pillow interface. Both sides claimed wins the following year when the International Trade Commission issued a mixed ruling, finding that 9 of BMC’s products each violated at least 1 of ResMed’s patents but invalidating others. The spat devolved into a flurry of counter-accusations in April of last year, with each side claiming the upper hand. The next month the ITC granted ResMed’s request for a probe into BMC Medical’s Lunaflow and RESmart flow generators. The 5-year deal announced Jan. 20 resolves all the ITC cases, plus lawsuits in Florida, California, China and Germany and validity challenges in various jurisdictions worldwide, the companies said. The deal calls for BMC and 3B to fork over royalties on sales of their existing products and for ResMed to make a 1-time payment to settle the Florida lawsuit. Neither side made any admission of wrongdoing, they said. “We are pleased to bring our litigation with BMC and 3B to a resolution and to have our intellectual property and patents recognized throu...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Legal News Patent Infringement Respiratory 3B Medical BMC Medical ResMed Inc. Source Type: news