SonoSite Wins Patent Infringement Lawsuit; Judge Reverses Earlier Infringement Ruling; Grants SonoSite Motion For Summary Judgm
March 22 2006 - 5:00AM
Business Wire
SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader in hand-carried
ultrasound, announced today that the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, has granted
SonoSite's motion for summary judgment of invalidity against
Neutrino Development Corporation (Neutrino), a patent holding
company. Based on the holding of invalidity, the court reversed its
earlier finding that SonoSite infringed Neutrino's patent, US
Patent No. 6,221,021 ("the '021 patent"). "This is a major victory
for SonoSite and we are very pleased that the judge agreed with us
that our products do not infringe Neutrino's patent," said Kevin M.
Goodwin, SonoSite President and CEO. "Our technology and products
are based on years of innovation and dedication by our employees.
We look forward to having the distraction of this unfounded lawsuit
behind us and continuing to develop products that are changing
medical practice by bringing the benefits of ultrasound
visualization to the point of patient care." In the ruling issued
yesterday, March 21, 2006, the court found that Neutrino improperly
amended the '021 patent in violation of US patent law to include a
claim of a component being handheld which was not in the original
patent application. In a final judgment, the court declared the
claims being asserted against SonoSite in the '021 patent are
invalid, vacated and set aside its earlier ruling on infringement,
and dismissed Neutrino's claims and causes of action "with
prejudice." Neutrino filed its original complaint against SonoSite
in US District Court in Houston on July 24, 2001 alleging that
SonoSite's hand-carried ultrasound products infringed the '021
patent, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Penile Hemodynamic
Stimulation, Monitoring and Drug Delivery Acceleration." The patent
was filed on May 30, 1999, amended by the plaintiff in May 2000 and
issued to Neutrino on April 21, 2001. About SonoSite SonoSite, Inc.
(www.sonosite.com) is the innovator and world leader in
hand-carried ultrasound, with an installed base of more than 25,000
systems. Headquartered near Seattle, SonoSite is represented by
eight subsidiaries and a global distribution network in over 75
countries. SonoSite's small, lightweight systems are expanding the
use of ultrasound across the clinical spectrum by cost-effectively
bringing high performance ultrasound to the point of patient care.
The company employs approximately 500 people worldwide.
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