Mallinckrodt Asserts That Masimo Radical Product Infringes Five Patents
ST. LOUIS, and PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal
District Court in Southern California on Friday, October 6, denied Masimo's
motion for a preliminary injunction and granted Mallinckrodt's associated
motion to dismiss Masimo's claim of infringement under U.S. Patent 6,036,642.
Masimo had claimed that Mallinckrodt's Nellcor N-395 pulse oximeter and MP404
OEM oximeter circuit board infringe two related Masimo patents.
"We are extremely pleased that the Court has decided to dismiss Masimo's
claim of infringement made under its '642 patent, and are confident that our
pending motion to dismiss the only remaining infringement claim made by Masimo
under U.S. Patent 5,490,505 will be granted later this year," said Forrest
Whittaker, president of Mallinckrodt's Respiratory Group. "We remain
extremely confident that Masimo's entire infringement suit is baseless, and
remain committed to defending our right to independently develop our own
innovative, patented technologies that meet our customers' needs and improve
patient care."
In November 1999, Mallinckrodt sued Masimo Corporation and Ivy Biomedical
Systems, Inc., for infringing four Mallinckrodt patents. Masimo recently
released a product called Radical and Satshare to allow Masimo sensors to be
connected to Nellcor-compatible monitors. Mallinckrodt also announced that it
has notified Masimo that these new products infringe three additional Nellcor
patents (U.S. Patents 4,621,643; 4,700,708; and 5,807,247), and that
Mallinckrodt will be amending its complaint in the near future to add these
additional patents to its infringement lawsuit. Mallinckrodt had previously
notified Masimo that the Radical product also infringes two of the four
patents originally asserted (U.S. Patents 5,078,136 and Re. 35,122).
"We are disappointed that Masimo has chosen to infringe additional
Mallinckrodt patents with yet another product," Whittaker said. "We are
particularly concerned that Masimo has chosen to infringe two patents ('643
and '708) which are set to expire in about three years which they know have
been determined valid and enforceable in prior U.S. litigation."
About Mallinckrodt
Mallinckrodt's Nellcor Oximetry Business is the world leader in pulse
oximetry with over 80 OEM and Licensing partners, 16 sensor choices, over 50
corporate account and IHN purchasing contracts, and four generations of pulse
oximetry technology. Mallinckrodt Inc. is a global manufacturer and marketer
of specialty medical products designed to sustain breathing, diagnose disease
and relieve pain. Named one of America's most admired medical products and
equipment companies by Fortune magazine, Mallinckrodt does business in more
than 100 countries. In fiscal 2000, combined net sales were $2.7 billion for
Mallinckrodt's respiratory, imaging and pharmaceutical product lines. Based
in St. Louis, Missouri, Mallinckrodt's website address is
http://www.mallinckrodt.com .
SOURCE Mallinckrodt
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http://www.mallinckrodt.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/440950.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 440950
CONTACT:
Media, Barbara Abbett, 314-654-5230, E-mail,
barbara.abbett@mkg.com, or Investors, Robert Martsching,
314-654-3190, E-mail, Invest@mkg.com, both of Mallinckrodt Inc.;
or Media, Joyce McMahon or Kara Nadeau of Mullen, 978-468-1155,
ext. 8949 or 8944, E-mail, joyce.mcmahon@mullen.com or
knadeau@mullen.com, both for Mallinckrodt Inc.
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