Baxter (NYSE:BAX) accused Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) of infringing 6 patents covering its FloSeal line with the Ethicon SurgiFlo line of competing surgical hemostasis products.
In a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois, Baxter said the alleged infringement is willful and asked Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman for triple damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, legal costs and a jury trial.
"Defendants’ SurgiFlo products directly compete with Baxter’s biosurgery products, including the Floseal family of products, which practice the Patents-in-Suit. On information and belief, defendants are aware of Floseal’s established position in the hemostatic products market and carefully track Baxter’s marketing and other activities related to the Floseal products in the United States and worldwide. For example, one or more of Defendants have repeatedly communicated with Baxter regarding competitive marketing issues in the United States and abroad pertaining to Floseal and SurgiFlo," Baxter alleged, according to court documents. "Defendants have infringed and will continue to infringe Baxter’s intellectual property rights by making, using, selling, offering for sale within the United States and/or importing into the United States delivery products for hemostasis such as the SurgiFlo family of products."
