Judge: BD owes nothing in Retractable Technologies false advertising case

Retractable Technologies (NYSE:RVP) shares are off more than -50% since a federal appeals court last week ruled that nemesis Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) owes nothing for making false advertising claims about its syringes. The dispute dates back to 2001, when Little Elm, Texas-based RTI sued BD for patent infringement that settled for $100 million in 2004. RTI sued again barely 3 years later, alleging further patent infringement and anti-trust violations. That case was split, with the anti-trust portion stayed while the patent infringement claims were litigated. A federal appeals court decided in July 2011 to reverse an earlier jury finding that both the 1m and 3ml sizes of BD’s Integra retractable syringe infringed the Retractable patent, ruling that only the smaller size trespassed on the intellectual property. The anti-trust phase of the proceedings began in 2010; eventually BD was found to have advertised false claims that its Integra, Safety-Lok, SafetyGlide and Eclipse safety syringes boast the “world’s sharpest needle” and about the amount of “waste space” in RTI’s VanishPoint syringe. In September 2013 a jury found for RTI, awarding $113.5 million after finding that BD violated the Lanham Act’s false advertising proscription. Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD later lost an initial bid to toss the case, after the Eastern Texas court ruled that infringement can constitute anti-competitive behavior. In October that court declined BD...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Hospital Care Legal News bectondickinson Retractable Technologies Inc. Source Type: news