

A federal jury in Michigan yesterday awarded $70 million in damages plus royalties to Stryker (NYSE:SYK) in a patent infringement lawsuit against Zimmer (NYSE:ZMH) over wound debridement devices.
Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker sued orthopedics rival Zimmer in December 2010, alleging infringement of 3 patents covering wound debridement technology with Zimmer’s Pulsavac Plus device.
Yesterday a jury in the U.S. District Court for Western Michigan awarded $70 million to Stryker in damages, ruling that Zimmer infringed all 3 patents, according to court documents.
Zimmer is now on the hook for 25% royalty payments to Stryker for the infringement, according to the documents, applied to some $254.8 million in sales of the infringing device. That amounts to $63.7 million in royalties.
The jury also decided that Zimmer’s infringement was willful, opening the door to a triple damages award that has yet to be decided by Judge Robert Jonker.