J&J Nets $1.7 Billion Settlement
NEW YORK (
) -- Some longstanding patent disputes between
Johnson & Johnson
(JNJ) - Get Report
and
Boston Scientific
(BSX) - Get Report
have finally been resolved, with J & J emerging as the clear the winner.
As part of the settlement Boston Scientific will pay $1 billion to Johnson & Johnson today. Boston Scientific will pay an additional $725 million at a later date, from cash on hand. In total, Boston Scientific will make a $1.725 billion payment to J&J.
The settlement involves three patent disputes dating back to 2003.
The first dispute involved a claim by Johnson & Johnson that Boston Scientific's Express, TAXUS Express and Liberte stents infringed its Palmaz and Gray patents.
The second involved a claim by Boston Scientific that J&J's Cypher, BX Velocity and Genesis stents infringed its Jang patent. In 2005, there were liability trials on these two matters, and both parties were found to have infringed the other's patents. Those findings were upheld on appeal. Damage claims from these two rulings were scheduled to be decided by two jury trials slated for this month in US District Court in Delaware. Those trials will no longer take place.
The third dispute involved a claim by Johnson & Johnson that Boston Scientific's TAXUS Liberte stent infringed its Gray patent. That matter was scheduled to be tried in September; that trial also will no longer take place.
"We have recently made a concerted effort to mitigate risk throughout the company, including litigation risk," Ray Elliott, Boston Scientific's chief executive said. "In the past year, we have significantly reduced the volume of outstanding litigation, having now settled 17 lawsuits with J&J, as well as disputes with other competitors and the government.
-- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York
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