The Federal Circuit Court on Wednesday upheld a doctor’s $4.3 million win over Globus Medical (NYSE:GMED) in a case examining supposed stolen trade secrets connected to 3 spinal fusion devices.
A jury ruled in favor of Dr. Sabatino Bianco in January after finding Globus liable for the misappropriation of trade secrets related to spinal disc repair devices, and granted Bianco royalties until 2022 on the devices, according to Law360.com.
Dr. Bianco claimed the devices Globus made were based on ideas he showed the company 7 years earlier. He brought the suit to the Texas Federal Court in 2012.
An appellate court panel affirmed the ruling in October and denied Globus rehearing or reconsideration bids without comment this week.
Globus argued last month that ideas protectable as trade secrets were without precedent in Texas, and that ongoing royalties have “never been recognized as a form of equitable relief under Texas trade secret law,” according to Law360.com
In April, Globus said it wanted a federal judge in Delaware to overturn its $16 million patent infringement loss to Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) DePuy-Synthes unit because a key witness for Synthes lied on the stand about his credentials.
A jury in the U.S. District Court for Delaware ruled in June 2013 that Audubon, Pa.-based Globus infringed on 3 Synthes spinal implant patents with its now-discontinued Independence ALIF system, Coalition ACDF system and InterContinental Plate-Spacer product lines.
The $16 million judgment was based on a 15% royalty rate applied to approximately $107 million in revenues Globus reported from the sale of the devices. But in December 2014, Synthes learned from Richard Gering’s former employer that he did not have a Ph.D., as he testified to under oath, according to court documents.