Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) is headed to court next month to speak to allegations, brought by rival Retractable Technologies’ (NYSE:RVP), that it engaged in illegal in order to maintain a monopoly in the syringe business.
A Texas federal judge dismissed Becton’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that there is sufficient evidence "suggesting that [Becton’s] contracts have anticompetitive effects," Law360.com reported.
The new trial is the latest in a long-running patent battle between the companies, which began in 2007 when Texas-based Retractable Technologies sued on allegations that Becton’s Integra syringes infringe patents covering its competing VanishPoint devices.
A federal appeals court decided in July 2011 to reverse a jury’s finding that both the 1m and 3ml sizes of the BD syringe infringed the Retractable patent, ruling that only the smaller size trespassed on the intellectual property. That same court later denied Retractable’s bid for a re-hearing, setting the stage for an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The high court also refused to hear Retractable’s appeal, but the company took to a Texas federal court to pursue its claims, landing a trial date set for next month. This marks the 1st time that both the antitrust and false advertising claims will be heard in court, as previous judges ruled to split the claims into separate lawsuits.
