U.S. Jury Orders Philips To Pay $466.8 Mln To Masimo For Violating Patents

(RTTNews) - A U.S. jury ordered Dutch consumer electronics firm Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (PHGFF.PK, PHG) to pay $466.8 million to Masimo Corp. (MASI) for infringing patents covering technology used in fingertip devices that measure blood oxygen and pulse rates using light absorption.

On February 3, 2009, Masimo filed a patent infringement suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Philips Electronics North America Corporation and Philips Medizin Systeme Böblingen GmbH related to Philips' FAST pulse oximetry technology and certain of Philips' patient monitors.

Philips subsequently filed patent infringement, antitrust, and other counterclaims against Masimo.

In mid-September 2014, the parties began a jury trial with respect to two of the patents asserted by Masimo and one of the patents asserted by Philips, these patents having been selected by the parties to be tried first.

On October 1, 2014, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Masimo with respect to the two patents asserted by the Company in this first phase and awarded damages of $466.8 million to the Masimo. The jury found that Masimo did not infringe the Philips patent tried in the first phase.

Meanwhile, Philips said that it will appeal the verdict in patent infringement lawsuit in the US.