Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE: HAE) announced today that on May 28, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a decision confirming the validity of Haemonetics' '983 Patent in light of numerous prior art references cited by Fenwal Inc. As such, the USPTO explicitly rejected Fenwal's position that the Patent was invalid over the prior art.
The '983 Patent was the basis of a judgment entered by the U.S. Federal Court for the District of Massachusetts in June 2009 that found Fenwal guilty of patent infringement, and liable to Haemonetics for $18 million in damages for past sales of the infringing product, and which imposed a 10% royalty for future sales of the infringing product until an injunction was to be effective December 1, 2010.
On June 2, 2010, a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision on Fenwal's Appeal, reversing in part, vacating in part, and remanding the case to the trial court for further proceedings. The Appeals Court ruling did not invalidate Haemonetics' patent and made no decision about whether Fenwal's product infringed, leaving the question of infringement to be decided after further proceedings before the district court. Haemonetics' CEO Brian Concannon said, "Haemonetics wants this matter resolved as quickly as possible so that our customers can plan accordingly. We're surprised at the Federal Appeals Court's decision, especially in light of the Patent Office decision confirming the validity of our patent."
Haemonetics believes that notwithstanding the Appeals Court instructions on claim construction on remand to the trial court, Fenwal's product still infringes Haemonetics' patent.
The Appeals Court ruling has no impact on Haemonetics' corresponding foreign patent rights in Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the UK.
A second patent infringement action by Haemonetics against Fenwal related to Fenwal's modified product continues in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.
Mr. Concannon also said, "We remain committed to pursuing innovation for our customers that delivers transformative blood management solutions. And we will continue to enforce our patent rights in the US and in other parts of the world that stem from those innovations."