
Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) settled a patent infringement lawsuit brought against its corporate prececessor, Tyco Healthcare Group LP, by Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:KMB) over endotracheal tubes.
The Mansfield, Mass.-based medical products giant and its Irving, Texas-based competitor agreed to settle the case, each paying their own legal fees, according to court documents.
Kimberly-Clark filed suit in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin in April 2009, alleging that Covidien subsidiary Mallinckrodt’s SealGuard and SealGuard Evac endotracheal tubes infringe a patent for its Microcuff product.
In July of last year, Judge William Griesbach shot down K-C’s motion to bar Covidien from selling the devices, ruling that an injunction would not be in the public interest because it would deny patients access to their doctors’ preferred treatment.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.